


Harmony To Every Single Part of Me

by KaytiKazoo



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Family Fluff, M/M, Single Parent Derek, Single Parent Stiles Stilinski, Stiles Stilinski/Scott McCall Endgame
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-28
Updated: 2015-03-28
Packaged: 2018-03-19 16:41:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 22,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3616920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KaytiKazoo/pseuds/KaytiKazoo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles Stilinski is heading off to college in the fall, and all he wants to do is spend the summer with his best friend (and maybe make out with him a little bit). Everything changes when his childhood friend shows up with a baby, his baby, and flees, leaving Stiles to change his life plan and fit this newborn into his life and fit himself into his daughter's life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Harmony To Every Single Part of Me

I _. Two Days_

“I just want this week to be over with,” Stiles groaned, dragging his book bag and lacrosse bag into the school, tipping back and forward unsteadily. Scott kept his hand hovering around Stiles’ back, just in case he teetered too far and fell on his back like a turtle. It wasn’t Stiles’ fault that all of his teachers had assigned all of their projects at the same time and he had to take home his entire locker for the weekend. It also wasn’t his fault that Coach Finstock had decided that they all needed to have an early morning practice every morning over the weekend in preparation for their last tournament coming up on Thursday. Of course, this meant they got out of classes for an entire day, but still, this meant that he was working them twice as hard so they might actually stand a chance at winning.

All in all, it meant Stiles was so heavily weighted down that he might actually lose his balance.

“Soon, bro,” Scott assured him. “We graduate in two weeks, and then we have the whole summer to ourselves. You, me, Isaac, just chilling until August.”

“Yeah, but I might kill myself before we get there. This bag is a symbol of my plight and soon it will crush me under its weight.”

“What does that even mean?” Scott asked. They stopped at their lockers, spinning their combinations into the locks.

“I’m going to die, and this bag is going to crush me to death.”

Scott laughed.

“Okay, how about we make a deal?”

Stiles finished shoving his last textbook/notebook combination into his locker in the order he would need them left to right and looked at Scott.

“What kind of deal?”

“At the end of this week, if you make it through without dying, or having a mental breakdown, you and me will have a marathon of Call of Duty and I will let you win.”

Stiles started to nod before he stopped and stated, “Let me win? Bro, you couldn’t beat me even if we were on easy and you had a handicap.”

“Oh, please,” Scott said with a snort. He gave Stiles a playful shove. Stiles’ stomach gave an unhelpful, unnecessary flop in his gut at Scott’s touch, as it had for years.  

“I’ll take your deal, except you don’t _let_ me win. Instead, a no holds barred competition between you and me. Winner takes the pot.”

“What’s the pot?”

“I haven’t decided yet. Give me until the end of practice. I’ll come up with something.”

Together they loped off to the locker room where a loud, cheerful Coach was aggressively trying to get the team to move and change into their practice clothes, even though every single one of them was slumped against their lockers.

“Coach, the sun isn’t even up yet,” one of the freshmen whined.

Stiles exchanged a look with Scott, both who knew better than to try and talk sense into Coach. They’d tried, failed, and promptly given in.

“See! Stilinski and McCall came prepared. You should all strive to be more like them. Well, more like McCall. We don’t need more Stilinskis in this world.”

“Thanks, Coach,” Stiles replied, moving to his locker and opening it automatically. He set about changing and getting ready for his oncoming storm of a week.

 

II. _Two Weeks_

Stiles had just graduated only three days before and was celebrating this milestone by lazing through the day. He and Scott had gotten hilariously drunk on cheap beers and off-brand whiskey with the rest of their friends the night of graduation after obligatory family dinners, and woke up in a pile of aching hangovers on Lydia’s living room floor. Stiles had had grand plans for the summer, which included sleeping, beach days, and lying around playing video games with Scott while he still could.

His plan did not involve diapers and pacifiers, but life is funny like that.

He was playing Halo 3 with Scott and Isaac on Xbox Live (and he was totally whooping both of their asses, no matter what they said) when the doorbell rang, a buffet of chips and soda and frozen pizza spread out over the coffee table in front of him.

He didn’t _want_ to answer the door, but his father had drilled it into his head early that this was the house of an officer of the law and it could be someone looking for help. It didn’t matter that it never was, it _could_ be, and that’s what mattered.

“Hold that thought, someone’s here,” Stiles said, pressing pause and getting up. He listened to the groans of his companions as he took off his headset. He brushed crumbs from his shirt and sweatpants and hopped over the back of the couch, heading for the door as the visitor rang the doorbell again. He pulled open the door and found Heather standing shifting nervously on the porch, her dirty blond hair pulled up into a pony tail away from her face. “Hey! Heather!”

“Hey Stiles,” she said quietly, shuffling her feet. “Listen, I have something for you, and I’m sorry.”

“What do you,” he started as she walked off the porch. She stepped onto the pavement of the driveway and pulled open the back door of her car. She ducked inside and pulled out a car seat. “Heather.”

She walked back to him and set the car seat down at his feet. She went back again and took out the car seat’s base, and brought a big canvas laundry bag with her from the back seat as well. She set it at his feet and sighed.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry I sprung this on you, and didn’t tell you, but this is your daughter,” she said, gesturing to the car seat where a newborn baby napped, a basic pink onesie and a pair of jean shorts covering her small body. “Her birthday is June 4th, she’s two weeks old.”

“Heather.”

“She was last fed about an hour ago, and she’s sleeping now, but she’s gonna need to be woken up and fed in an hour, maybe an hour and a half. She’ll let you know, most of the time. I’m sorry, but I can’t do this. I’m not a mother, Stiles.”

“ _Heather_.”

“I’m shitty to just spring this on you, but I can’t handle this. I tried. She’s too much for me. I’ve got my car packed, I left my mom a note, and I’m going. I’ve got a country to see, and I can’t do that with a newborn.”

She stepped off the porch.

“Heather!”

He couldn’t get his tongue to form any other words, his mind stuck like a repeating record.

“Oh,” Heather said, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a folded up piece of paper. She pressed it into his hand until his fingers came to fold over it. “There’s a folder with all her documents in the bag, but this is the contact information of her pediatrician. He’s great with her, and she loves him. She might get really upset when I’m not around, but she’ll warm up to you. Just keep talking to her. She likes talking.”

“Heather, you can’t do this.”

“I can, and I know you, Stiles. You’re a Stilinski. Stilinskis look after their own, right?”

Stiles watched helplessly as Heather walked backwards away from him. She shut her back door and opened the front door of the car. She slid in and reached for the door handle when he called out.

“What’s her name?”

Heather smiled. “Claudia Rose Stilinski, after your mom, and my grandma.”

She pulled the door shut, started up the car, and backed out of the drive. She gave him a single wave before she drove away, leaving Stiles alone with a porch full of stuff and a baby.

 _His_ baby.

Holy shit.

He sunk down onto the step and just watched her. She looked so fragile, so little. He ran his fingertip over her cheek.

“Fuck.”

He lifted the car seat gingerly and brought her into the house, setting the seat down on the couch. He lifted up the headset and nestled it over his ear, adjusting the mouthpiece.

“You guys there?”

“Yeah,” Scott answered.

“Unfortunately,” Isaac grumbled.

“I need you to come over, Scott, and uh, bring your mom.”

“Why? What’s going on? Are you okay? Who was at the door?”

“Scotty, please, this is not a conversation I can have on Live, dude.”

“Okay, I’m on my way. Be right there.”

Stiles took the headset off and went to bring in all Claudia’s things, dragging the canvas bag up and over the threshold to his house and then bringing in the car seat base. He didn’t even know how to put a base into his car. He didn’t have any cousins to learn about babies.

Fuck, he didn’t know shit about babies. How did Heather expect him to be able to raise this little girl, _their_ little girl? He was supposed to go to college in fall and party too hard and do his homework at all hours of the night and fall asleep in odd places. He wasn’t supposed to be a dad already.

God, his father was going to kill him.

He sat by Claudia Rose, and watched. She was beautiful, her little face peaceful as she slept. She had his nose, he recognized that immediately, and a patch of darker skin Stiles recognized as a birthmark on her hairline. She had dark hair, thick like his had been when he was a baby. Her toe and finger nails were so small, her little toes curled tight against her foot. He slid his finger into her hand and watched as she reflexively squeezed her fingers around it, her grip surprisingly strong for someone so small.

The door opened and Melissa marched in with Scott following. They both stopped as they spotted Stiles and the car seat.

“Stiles,” Melissa said quietly. “Where did you get a baby? Did you kidnap that little girl?”

“What?” Stiles replied just as quietly, tearing his eyes away from Claudia. “No. She’s my daughter.”

“What? When? Who did you get pregnant?” Scott asked in a normal voice. Claudia squirmed in her car seat at the noise.

“Scott,” Melissa scolded in a whisper. “There is a sleeping baby.”

“Sorry.”

“Heather is her mother.”

“Bubble baths when you were 4 Heather?” Scott asked. Stiles nodded, looking at his daughter again. He could see traces of Heather in the baby’s face, but he knew that babies tended to look like their fathers when they were first born so that the father would want to take care of the child. Evolution was funny like that.

“She dropped her off just now, kept saying she was sorry and she couldn’t be a mother, and she knew I would raise her, and then she left. She left me her stuff and left.”

He couldn’t bring himself to take his finger away from Claudia, even as tears filled his eyes.

“I can’t do this. I’m 18. I don’t know how to be a parent.”

He looked up, lost, at Melissa and she hurried over to him.

“Do you want to hold her?” she asked, reaching into the car seat to unbuckle her.

“What? No! That’s terrifying,” Stiles whispered even as Melissa tugged Stiles’ finger away from Claudia and then slid her arm out of the straps. She lifted the newborn out of the seat with expert precision and settled her in Stiles’ arms before he could stop her.

And Stiles’ world stopped.

All he could do was stare at this little, tiny being in his arms that was suddenly completely dependent on him, and he didn’t want to run out on her like Heather had. He wanted to be there for Claudia, wanted to see her first steps, hear her first words, be there for her first day of kindergarten, and soothe her when the first boy, or girl, breaks her heart.

“Wow,” he whispered. “She’s so little.”

“Do you know how old she is?” Melissa asked, opening the bag Heather had left for Stiles and starting to empty it on the coffee table as Scott moved the food from the table to the dining room.

“Two weeks.”

She pulled out a lot of onesies, even more diapers, a couple packages of wipes and then a couple of bottles. Stiles watched as she also pulled out three containers of formula and then a bottle of shampoo, and then a folder.

“Well, she has you well-stocked for now, but you’re gonna need a crib, and a nursery, and this is gonna run out really fast,” Melissa muttered to herself. She pulled out a notepad from her own purse and started jotting things down, flipping open the folder. She leafed through it. “Okay, all her documents are here. Oh. Her name.”

“Yeah,” Stiles said, unable to keep the smile out of his voice.

“What is it?” Scott asked, ducking out of the living room with a plate of chips from the table, the last of Stiles’ forgotten buffet.

“Claudia Rose,” Stiles and Melissa chorused. Scott cooed and came to sit with Stiles, looking at the baby.

“She’s so cute,” Scott said.

“She is,” Melissa agreed. “Stiles, have you called your dad yet?”

“No, I was too busy freaking out about having a kid I didn’t know about,” Stiles replied. “I didn’t even think to call Dad.”

“I’ll do it,” Melissa assured him. “We need to get you a lot of stuff.”

“Yeah, who knows how that is gonna happen,” Stiles muttered. “I can’t even afford to get my car fixed.”

“We’ll figure it out, Stiles,” Scott assured him.

“You’ve got us to help you,” Melissa added, taking out her phone and dialing. “Hey John, it’s Melissa. I have something to tell you. Are you alone and sitting down?”

Stiles tuned her out as he shifted Claudia to better look at her. She remained sleeping happily, shifting to be more comfortable.

“God, she really is beautiful,” Stiles breathed out. “Look at her, Scott. That’s my _daughter_. I’m a father. I’m her father.”

“You gonna be alright?” Scott asked, ducking his head to look at Stiles’ face.

“Yeah, I’m breathing fine. I’m just, I’m still so floored. This little girl is mine, Scott. I helped create her. It’s miraculous and scary. Who decided to trust me with a living thing? I couldn’t even keep a plant alive for more than a week!”

“A baby is a lot harder to let die, honestly,” Scott replied. “I mean, it’s loud, and you’re a lot more likely to notice it’s getting sick.”

“Your father is on his way home, and he says he has a few choice words for your irresponsibility, but that your old crib is still in the basement for her to sleep in until we can get you a new one,” Melissa stated, coming back into the room as she hung up the phone.

“Okay,” Stiles said, nodding. “Are you going to yell at me for getting a girl pregnant?”

“No, people make mistakes, and shit happens,” Melissa said, looking at Claudia. “But you just have to deal with the consequences, and I know you’re going to do right by your little girl, so I’m not worried. I just want to give her the best chance in life, and that starts by encouraging you to get the crib out of the basement.”

“Right now?”

“Right now,” Melissa said, easing Claudia out of Stiles’ arms. Stiles made a noise like a cut-off whimper. “It’s okay. I am capable of holding a child. Look at Scott. He doesn’t have anything wrong with him.”

Stiles snorted.

“Hey, rude, man,” Scott cut in, grabbing Stiles’ arm and dragging him towards the basement. “Just for that, I’m not helping you with the crib.”

They took the creaky stairs down into the basement, the pit where nostalgia went to die, mostly. The fact that his parents had kept his crib in the first place was telling, actually.

“So, you and Heather? Why didn’t you say anything?”

Stiles refused to believe he heard any sort of jealousy in Scott’s voice, refused to get his hopes up.

“I told you I lost my virginity last year, man, to Heather. Do you listen when I talk?”

“Sometimes. You talk so much,” Scott replied. “Didn’t you wear protection? I’m pretty sure the Sheriff was explicit on that matter. He gave _me_ the safe sex talk, and I’d already gone through Nurse McCall’s sex talk.”

“I wore one, but I think it broke. I mean, obviously, because hey, look, Claudia was born. It was a crappy brand anyway, her brother had a box in the upstairs bathroom, and he’s been out of the house for five years, so they were old. It was a bad decision, I know,” he said, wading through the piles of his old toys and past his mother’s box of clothes that his father couldn’t look at anymore, to get to an old, dusty crib. There were a couple pictures of Stiles in that crib, the frame carved out of wood, a present from one of his father’s old Army buddies. “I shouldn’t have had sex if I wasn’t 100 percent sure the condom would hold up. Dad and your mom drilled that into my head, but I didn’t care.”

“You know what your dad is gonna say,” Scott said, moving aside boxes to create a path.

“Of course, I do. He’s gonna tell me that I should’ve been absolutely sure that we were using proper protection and I should’ve thought about it before jumping into bed with Heather, but that obviously didn’t happen, and I’m clearly going to be more careful next time.”

“God, I hope so.”

Stiles shifted the crib so the short end was facing Scott’s path.

“Scotty, that path isn’t big enough.”

“What? Yes, it is!”

“No, buddy, it isn’t. Look, you’ve got like 6 inches to go.”

Scott grumbled as he pushed the offending boxes further from his path, sneezing as dust kicked up from a box labeled **STILES**.

“Wonder what’s in there,” Stiles said, stopping to pop open the flaps folded together. Inside was a bunch of toddler toys, and his oldest friend in the world. “Holy shit. Mr. Piffles.”

“What?” Scott asked.

Stiles took Mr. Piffles, an old, faded bunny from the box and held him against his chest.

“Mr. Piffles, Scott! Babcia got me this little guy when Mom was pregnant with me. I slobbered all over this thing for three years before he disappeared. Apparently they stuck him in a box. Rude. I remember being so upset for days because Mr. Piffles wasn’t around, and, my parents are traitors!”

Stiles tossed Mr. Piffles into the crib and closed the box back up. He helped Scott move the boxes and bags aside until they had enough room to get the crib through. When they finally got the crib, after much grumbling and cursing on both their parts, to the bottom of the stairs, Stiles could hear his father and Melissa talking.

“Scale of one to ten, how angry is my dad going to be about this?”

“He’s your dad, dude. I don’t know. My dad would say he was a ten, but never show up to argue with me,” Scott said bitterly. Stiles gave him a look and he shrugged. “I’m still bitter about him skipping graduation, is all.”

“Okay. Well, if you need to talk, dude.”

“Yeah, bro, I know where to find you.”

“Alright, let’s get this thing upstairs. You want front or back?”

“Back, you walk up the stairs backwards.”

They struggled, and cursed at each other, and several minutes later, Stiles pushed open the door to the basement. They got the wooden crib onto the first floor and collapsed onto the floor out of exhaustion. The Sheriff swung out of the living room, cradling his granddaughter to his chest and fixed Stiles with a look.

“We need to talk.”

“Can I convince my heart that it’s not necessary to beat this fast after a miniscule amount of physical effort first? I think I’m having a heart attack.”

“Office,” the Sheriff said, carrying the baby away. Stiles whined.

“If I don’t come back, raise my daughter, okay?” Stiles said to Scott, picking himself up and following his father into the office. He shut the door and found his father stroking Claudia’s cheek, his face soft. “So, how much trouble am I in?”

“So much,” the Sheriff responded.

“You’re going to kill me and they’ll never find the body trouble?”

“No, I’m not raising your daughter for you, so I won’t be killing you yet.”

“Oh, cool, so what? You’ll kill me in 18 years when she’s off to college?”

The Sheriff grinned and shrugged, and rocked Claudia back and forth.

“Melissa tell you what Heather named her?”

“No.”

“Claudia Rose,” Stiles answered, and he swore that he had never seen his father look so simultaneously heartbroken and like it was the happiest day of his life. “I know you’re mad, and trust me, I get it. I do. I’m mad at myself too, but look at her.”

The Sheriff looked at the infant curled against his chest and smiled.

“I remember when you were this small, and you slept all the time. Despite what a lot of people believe, you were a quiet baby. Then you started talking, and I stopped believing anything you said, but before then,” the Sheriff ran a hand over Claudia’s soft hair and down her back. “You’re gonna need to get a job.”

“I know.”

“And you need to get a hold of school and tell them you won’t be attending.”

“I know.”

“I won’t lecture you on how stupid you were, because I’m sure you already know. Just do right by your daughter and I won’t have to ground you.”

“I’m 18, you can’t ground me.”

“You live under my roof, I can do what I want,” the Sheriff reminded him. “Now, I’m going to clean off the crib and you’re going to bond with your daughter.”

Stiles was still nervous, his hands sweaty and his stomach twisted in so many tight knots that it hurt under his breastbone. Anxiety is a bitch sometimes.

He was careful as he took Claudia from his dad and rested her against his chest, her small torso lying along his own with her head turned to the side, her mouth open a little as she took even breaths.

“Was I this cute?” he asked, looking up to his father.

“Yeah, you were. Your mom couldn’t look away from you for days after you were born, kept telling me that you was the cutest thing on the planet. Period. There would never be a baby born that was more perfect.”

“I don’t like disagreeing with Mom, because she was normally right, but I think this one’s got even me beat for cuteness,” Stiles said.

“I think I have to agree with you there, kid,” the Sheriff said, cupping the back of his head before he pressed a kiss into Stiles’ hairline. “Come get me or Melissa if you have any questions. You’re gonna be fine, Stiles.”

The Sheriff disappeared out of the office, leaving Stiles alone with Claudia again.

“I’m not gonna ever leave you, Claudia,” he said quietly. “It’s gonna be you and me forever. I’m gonna be there for you whenever you need me, whenever you don’t. I’m gonna be the best dad that I can be.”

 

III. _Two Months_

Stiles and Claudia settled into a routine fairly easily. She didn’t cry too much over Heather’s absence, but she was asleep through most of the few days after Heather dropped her off. Melissa and the Sheriff taught Stiles how to take care of an infant, how to feed her and bathe her, how to change her diaper and how to rock her to sleep. She slept in Stiles’ room while they fixed up the spare bedroom into her nursery, her crib taking up the space by the window, and her clothes now overflowing from his top dresser drawer. The living room had been taken over by baby toys that Melissa and Scott had went overboard on buying.

Stiles was exhausted, of course. Claudia woke up at least once every night, demanding to be fed or changed or even just held. He hadn’t slept well since she appeared in his life, and he ended up napping whenever she did just to catch up on the sleep he missed at night. She slept the best, he found, when he was in the room, so he tried to stay in his room for the rest of the night after he put her down.

“I got an interview!” Stiles called to his dad after hanging up the phone with Shayla, the manager at the local gas station.

“That’s great, son,” the Sheriff said, laying Claudia down on the floor for tummy time, which she hated. She made a cranky noise at him but reached for her rattle elephant.

“You wanted me to get a job, sound a little more excited for me,” Stiles said, heading for the kitchen to make them some lunch. “I was all for just staying home with Claudia all day, but I’m being responsible and looking for a job.”

“Once you get the job, I’ll be excited for you,” his father replied, staying in the living room with Claudia. “You also need to find someone to watch her when you’re at work.”

“I was thinking about that, actually. Didn’t Laura Hale take over Talia’s daycare?”

“I believe so, you’d have to ask her, though,” his father called.

Stiles hummed and grabbed his phone, dialing Cora Hale, Laura’s younger sister.

“Stilinski?” she answered.

“Yeah, hey, are you home?”

“Yeah,” Cora answered cautiously.

“Awesome. Mind if I drop by?”

“Not at all. It’d be nice to see you. Can I ask you why now? I mean, I graduated last year and haven’t heard much from you,” she reminded him, the sound of a microwave beeping coming from her end.

“I’m sorry about that, Cor. I want you to meet someone, though.”

“Did Stilinski finally get a girlfriend? Or a boyfriend?”

“No,” he laughed, looking into the living room at his dad and Claudia. His daughter lifted her head steadily and looked around before sticking her rattle into her mouth. “She’s really important to me, though.”

“Alright, I’ll be at the house for the rest of the night.”

“Okay, give me about an hour. I need to feed my father something healthy before he goes to work and decides curly fries and a hamburger is on his diet.”

Cora laughed.

“Hey, does Laura still live at home?”

“No, but she’s always here because she runs the daycare from the house. Why?”

“No reason. I’ll see you soon,” he said and hung up before Cora could ask any more questions.

“I heard that snide comment about my diet, Stiles,” the Sheriff stated.

“Good. Maybe you’ll stick to it.”

Stiles made them a relatively healthy lunch and made Claudia a bottle as she started to fuss, bringing the bottle and his lunch to the dining room table and going to pick up his daughter.

“Hey boo,” he cooed, settling her in his arms as he sat down, shaking the bottle before pushing the nipple into her mouth. He held the bottle in place with his chin and grabbed a half of his sandwich, taking a bite before returning it to the plate and taking the bottle back in his hand. He and Claudia had figured this out over the month and a half they had gotten used to each other.

“You’re going over to the Hale house, then?” the Sheriff asked, sitting in the chair next to Stiles.

“Yeah, everyone else has met Claudia.”

He had dropped by everyone’s house when he knew they would be home and let them hold and coo over Claudia. Scott had spent the most time with her, of course. He’d taken her to see Allison, who had absolutely adored her, then Lydia who made a comment about Stiles deserving his second place salutatorian rank before she held Claudia and almost refused to give her back. Kira had been next and had been so cautious, like she was afraid to break her, and Malia hadn’t been sure what to do with a child. She’d also met Erica, Boyd, and Isaac, although Isaac had refused to hold her.

The Sheriff held out Stiles’ sandwich for him to take a bite out of and continued, “Are you only doing this because you want to ask Laura to watch her?”

“Well, no. Yes, but no. I haven’t seen Cora in ages,” he said after chewing and swallowing. He was trying to have better manners, even though Claudia wouldn’t start eating solid food for months. “Since she went off to college, we haven’t even talked enough, and I miss her. She was a really good friend, you know?”

“I get it.”

Stiles nodded and looked down at Claudia, her tiny ineffectual hands balled up on either side of the bottle.

“Plus, I was hoping Laura wouldn’t say no because of how absolutely adorable Claudia is.”

“Stealth attack,” the Sheriff said, feeding another bite of sandwich to Stiles. He nodded in reply. The Sheriff continued to feed Stiles while Stiles fed Claudia, their conversation turning to who was in the best position to pick up another container of formula. Stiles argued the Sheriff because he had to come home eventually and his drive was past the store, and the Sheriff argued that it was Stiles’ child and he was leaving the house anyway.

“Okay, it’s decided, you’ll get the formula,” the Sheriff stated, getting up once they were all done with their lunches, and Stiles was burping Claudia in his lap.

“What? When did we decide that?”

“It’s my house. You buy the formula.”

“Dad!”

“Have fun with Cora!” the Sheriff called as he headed out the door, stopping to grab his belt and keys from the hooks by the door.

“You are the absolute worst!” Stiles called back as the door shut. “Your grandpa is the worst, Claudia. I don’t care how many toys he buys you, you remember that.”

She let out a loud burp in response.

“Atta girl,” he chuckled.

Once he was sure he’d gotten all the gas bubbles out, he started getting them ready to go. He changed her outfit to a simple onesie that Melissa found with the Batman logo on the front with the word Bat Baby in bold font beneath it, and a pair of jean shorts. He checked the diaper bag, which for now was just his backpack from high school, for all the essentials, then changed his own clothes, his previous outfit covered in formula spit-up from Claudia’s breakfast.

He carried Claudia down to her car seat, which she started fussing at immediately.

“I know, babe, but you gotta go in. It’s the law, and your grandpa is the law, you know.”

She let him strap her in, but she let him know that she was not happy about it, loudly.

“Yeah, yeah, you’re the most unhappy baby in the world and I’m horrible for keeping you safe. I get it.”

He handed her the stuffed elephant she loved and stuck the pacifier in her mouth. She settled down and sucked happily on the pacifier. He grabbed his keys, slung the bag over his shoulder and picked up the car seat, heading out for the Jeep. Besides buying all Claudia’s essentials, he had plans to save a part of his paycheck for two things, to get a new car and to start saving for her college tuition. His father had tried for Stiles, but unfortunately, with his mother’s medical bills and then some of Stiles’, he just couldn’t.

Plus, he really needed a car that wasn’t going to leave him and his infant daughter stranded on the side of some unmarked abandoned highway. That would be nice.

And a car that he didn’t have to struggle getting the car seat in and out of, that would be spectacular.

The ride to the Hale house didn’t take long, although the Jeep struggled on the Hale’s long, dirt driveway. He finally pulled up between a Camaro and an expensive looking Toyota.

“You wanna meet some new people, Claudia?”

He pushed his seat forward and unhooked the car seat from the base, and grabbed the diaper bag before heading towards the front door. It opened and Cora stepped out as he made his way up the walk. It was an impressive house, large enough to be filled with family members, the Preserve sprawling out around it.

“Hey you- you brought a baby,” she said, her eyebrows rising in surprise.

“Yeah, can we go inside? It’s hot, and this little girl is heavier than she looks.”

“Sure,” Cora said, waiting for him before leading him inside and into the living room. He set the car seat on the coffee table and unstrapped Claudia.

“You wanna come out, boo? I bet you do,” Stiles said. Claudia’s blue eyes blinked open as she stared up at him, a mix of annoyance and confusion on her grumpy face. “I have someone I want you to meet.”

“Oh my gosh,” Cora squealed, drawing Claudia’s attention.

“Cora Hale, I want you to meet Claudia Rose Stilinski, my daughter.”

“Give her,” she demanded, taking Claudia out of his arms and cradling her close with the expertise of a girl with cousins by the handful. He’d been to her family reunion. There were a lot of Hales in the world, a lot more than there were Stilinskis. “When did you reproduce? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I only found out about her a month and a half ago,” Stiles replied, sinking onto the couch, watching Cora and Claudia. “You don’t know her mother; just know that she’s not around anymore.”

“She died or,”

“She left. She doesn’t want anything to do with Claudia, or with me.”

Cora frowned and looked down at Claudia.

“Claudia Rose,” Cora said, swaying with her. “That’s why you wanted to know if Laura was around.”

“Yeah, I need to get a babysitter for when I’m at work, and I don’t trust a lot of people,” he said with a shrug.

“If I weren’t going back to school, I’d be all over that, and you wouldn’t even have to pay me.”

“Well, one of us has to go to school,” Stiles said, tilting his head back.

“You’d do better than I am doing,” Cora admitted, sinking onto the couch beside him. She sat Claudia up and grinned at her. “How about, you take my classes, and I’ll look after your daughter?”

Stiles chuckled.

“What’s your major again?”

Cora made a face.

“Do you listen when I talk?”

“I do. You were taking all gen ed courses this year, so I don’t remember! Besides, in high school, you had about three different ideas about what you wanted to do.”

“I’m a Health and Nutrition major, with a concentration in Exercise Science,” she said.

“Right,” Stiles said, nodding like he knew that. He vaguely recalled her telling him that, but that was all.

“Your daddy is a bad friend sometimes,” Cora cooed in a happy voice to Claudia. It was strange, Cora with a baby. She was normally all sarcasm and biting wit, but she softened with Claudia, smiled more than Stiles normally saw from her.

“If you’re gonna lie to her, you can’t be named her god-mother.”

“Really?” Cora asked, heading snapping up to meet Stiles’ eyes.

“Yeah, you know that I don’t really believe in God or anything, but my dad’s mom does, and she would probably kill me if I didn’t have Claudia baptized. Stilinski family tradition and everything. I’m thinking about asking Scott to be her godfather.”

Cora grinned at him.

“Stop,” he whined, already knowing what was about to come out of her mouth.

“Come on, Stiles. You need to make _some_ kind of move already!”

“He’s going to college, and I’m staying here, what’s the point?”

“The point is that you’ve been in love with your best friend for three years now and you haven’t worked up the balls to tell him! He deserves to know, and you deserve that chance to be happy. God, we’ve had this conversation too many times.”

“It’s not that simple.”

“It is that simple! You walk up to him, sit him down, and say, _Scott, buddy, I’m in love with you, and I would like to take you out on a date and hopefully play footsie with you and end up making out in my Jeep to One Direction_.”

“What if he doesn’t feel like going on a date and playing footsie with me and making out with me to One Direction? Then, I’ve gone and ruined my friendship with my best friend, a 14 year friendship.”

“Scott McCall would be a fool to not love you back.”

He shook his head and reached down to grab a burp cloth out of the bag to wipe the drool and some spit up off of Claudia’s chin.

“He’s not even into guys.”

“Oh, please,” she laughed.

“What? He’s not!”

“Stiles, you are one of the smartest people I know. But buddy, you are also so fucking oblivious.”

“What? No, I’m not!”

The door opened behind them and Laura came in, swinging bags from the grocery store in her hands when she stopped.

“Baby,” she stated.

“She didn’t get a lot of sleep last night,” Cora supplemented for her. “She’s not gonna be good at the sentences.”

“I understand that. This one woke up three times last night,” he said, nodding to Claudia.

“Why baby? How baby?” Laura asked, setting her bags down and coming closer. “Who baby?”

“My baby,” Stiles said with a cheeky grin.

“Stilinski has a baby,” Laura stated, looking at Claudia with a startled confusion on her face. “Huh.”

“Her name is Claudia,” Stiles said. The door opened and Talia came in, her son Derek trailing behind with a couple of bags. “Hey Mrs. Hale!”

“Stiles! I haven’t seen you around in a while,” Talia said, dropping her bags by Laura’s and coming closer. “This must be the daughter John was telling me about. Hello.”

Claudia scrunched up her face at all the noise. Stiles scooped her back out of Cora’s arms before the wailing started.

“Oh, it’s okay, Claudia,” he said quietly, grabbing the pacifier out of her car seat and wiggling it past her lips. “Sorry, too many noises make her anxious. She hates when my dad watches old ball-games. Or new ball-games. Or any sort of movie that doesn’t have bright colors and singing characters. Even some of those make her scream.”

Talia smiled.

“Cora and Laura were both like that,” Talia replied, watching Claudia. “She’s adorable.”

Claudia stretched out in his arms, her little legs straightening out and her feet, toes curled pointed towards Cora before she looked up at Stiles. She could see, he had researched, about 18 inches in front of her, so she could see his face but no one else’s. That’s why talking to babies is so important, to reassure them that you’re still _there_ because they can’t see you unless you’re holding them.

“Stiles needs a babysitter,” Cora piped up for him while he was too busy staring in wonder at his daughter’s little face, pudgy cheeks and blue eyes, pacifier stuck in her mouth.

“I’ll do it,” Laura offered.

“I don’t have a job to pay you yet,” he said.

“That’s fine. You’re a friend of the family, so you get a discount.”

“That is the best thing I’ve heard all day,” Stiles breathed out. Laura rounded the couch and Stiles shifted Claudia into her arms.

“She is so tiny. How old is she?”

“Two months old.”

“She is easily the cutest kid I have ever watched,” Laura said. Claudia’s eyes followed Laura’s movements. “Can I ask how no one knew you were gonna be a dad or?”

“Laura,” Talia scolded.

“No, it’s okay, Talia. You didn’t know because I didn’t know. Claudia’s mother never told me she was pregnant, until Claudia was two weeks old and she was leaving her with me so she could go see the world. Her mother’s been flighty since we were kids, so I can’t say I’m surprised by it at all.”

“How could anyone leave this little angel?” Laura cooed, tickling Claudia’s belly and making her laugh. “Oh, that is the sweetest sound ever. I want a baby.”

“Laura, you run a daycare. You don’t need a baby,” Derek reminded her from the kitchen. It was amazing what the Hales could hear. They all just had amazing hearing. Stiles couldn’t get away with anything when Cora was around.

“Yeah, but those babies goes home at the end of the day. I want one that doesn’t go home.”

“No, you don’t,” Stiles said, recognizing the look on Claudia’s face as her _Excuse me, but I have to concentrate really hard on pooping right now_ face. “I haven’t had a decent night’s sleep in a month and a half, plus the diapers don’t ever stop.”

Laura’s face didn’t scrunch up, which was a testament to her time running the daycare, but she did pass Claudia back to Stiles easily when she realized what Stiles already knew.

“Hey boo. You’re a stinky girl, you know that? Very stinky. Beautiful and smart and everything I could ever want in a baby, but stinky just the same.”

Claudia burbled back at him.

“Yeah, that’s true. Fair point, Counselor.”

Cora leaned forward as Stiles settled Claudia on the floor on top of his changing mat and stated, “I never would’ve thought of you as good with kids, Stiles.”

“Me neither, but I don’t have much other choice, do I? She’s my daughter. I can’t just walk away from her, whether or not I’m good with kids, or she likes me. Which, thank God, she does. But even if she didn’t, I’m here for her.”

The Hales let out some coos while Stiles tugged off Claudia’s jean shorts and discarded them. She kicked her feet and laughed at Stiles. Stiles feared the day that Claudia learned to take her clothes off, because she loved to be naked.

“Her mom said something to me when she dropped her off, and it’s so true, I should needlepoint it and hang it in the house somewhere. She said, you’re a Stilinski and Stilinskis look after their own,” Stiles continued while he popped open the snaps on Claudia’s onesie. 

“Yeah, they do,” Talia agreed.

“The second I held her, I was just gone. She’s perfect.”

He pulled out the package of wipes and tugged open the tabs of Claudia’s diaper, and wrinkled his nose.

“Even though she sleeps when I need her to be awake and wakes up whenever I need her to sleep. Even though she has vomited on literally every shirt I owned. Even though she has the worst smelling poops that I have ever experienced. She’s perfect. Aren’t you, Claudia?”

The Hales trailed off into separated conversations while Stiles cleaned his squirming, kicking, delighted infant. She let out an aggravated whine as Stiles lifted her back end up and slid the diaper under her.

“Oh, I know. But Daddy has to put your diaper on, Clauds. You can be naked for bath time later, but for now, you have to put your clothes on.”

She kicked her feet some more as he tried to wrap the tab off the diaper over her hip. She wriggled and squirmed, although she couldn’t go far because she wasn’t old enough to roll over yet. She just angrily tried to move as much as possible to keep Stiles from fastening the diaper correctly.

“You are going to be a handful when you get older. And your grandpa is going to laugh his butt off when you are, because it’s gonna be sweet retribution.”

“Were you a bit of a wild child?” Laura asked, breaking off from her conversation with Talia.

“Oh, yeah,” Talia laughed. “I remember Claudia and John being at their wits’ end over this boy.”

“Pretty sure my dad still is, and I’m legally an adult now.”

Cora snorted.

“Yeah, _legally_.”

Stiles shot Cora a look before snapping the onesie back in place and wrestling Claudia’s legs into her shorts.

“Anyone want her in particular?”

Talia held out her hands and Stiles lifted Claudia up and into her arms.

“I need to talk to Stiles, actually,” Cora stated, grabbing Stiles’ hand as he finished bundling the soiled diaper and wipes together. “Come on, Stilinski.”

She dragged him out of the living room and up the stairs, into her room. He’d been in Cora’s room before, for projects and late night movie marathons when Laura was hogging the living room, but it looked emptier. He supposed that was because she was living out of her suitcase before she had to pack it back up and move back to school which would be soon.

He sank onto her soft, cloud of a mattress.

“This is about Scott,” he stated. It wasn’t even a question anymore. Whenever Cora dragged him off and declared that she had to talk to him in private, it was _always_ about Scott. She had made it her life’s mission to get Scott and Stiles together ever since he had accidentally let his feelings for Scott slip.

“Of course it’s about Scott, dumb dumb,” Cora said, bouncing down next to him. “How is Scott with Claudia?”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Just answer the question, Stiles.”

“He’s amazing with her. She loves him, loves when he’s around. Okay?”

Cora was grinning that grin of hers that Stiles knew meant that she had proved her point, and looked much like a cat with a canary between her paws.

“What’s your point, Cora?”

“You’re really gonna make me spell this out for you?”

“Yes.”

“Fine. You’re in love with Scott, which isn’t an automatic need for honesty. Except, he’s your best friend. He deserves to know. Besides that he’s always been there for you-”

“Because he’s my best friend.”

“Don’t interrupt me. Where was I?”

“He’s always there for me.”

“Right. He’s always there for you. He’s good with your kid. In fact, you said it yourself that she loves him. You and him would be perfect for that little girl, you would be a pretty good little family.”

Stiles let out a heavy sigh.

“Look,” Cora said softly. “I just want you to be happy, and right now the way you look at Scott breaks my heart.”

“And how is that?”

“You look at him, Stiles, like you would willingly drown in him if he let you.”

Stiles didn’t reply. He knew what she said was true, and it wasn’t the first time someone had said something similar. Lydia pointed it out, and Allison had mentioned it, and _his father_ had said as much, and he knew it was true. He knew he was in love with Scott. God, there was a weight in his chest that dragged him down specifically for Scott. But he couldn’t, he couldn’t do anything about it.

“Cora, it’s not that simple.”

“Then, explain it to me.”

“Scott’s going to college in a few weeks. He’s going to go to a big school with thousands of people more attractive, more interesting, less fucked up than me. He’s going to meet boys and girls who fawn over him because he is the most amazing guy I have ever met. He’s going to have inside jokes that I’m not going to get anymore because while Scott is off expanding his world and meeting all of these great, wonderful people, I’m going to be at home. I’m going to have a minimum wage nine-to-five and when I come home, I’m going to be a single parent. I’m going to be watching Super Why! and Animal Mechanicals, changing diapers, and I’m going to stay here while my best friend moves on. There’s no way that Scott’s going to want to be with me, not with all of the complications I bring with me now. He’s got so much more ahead of him.”

Cora frowned and leaned in to kiss his forehead.

“You are so much more than you think you are,” she assured him.

He shook his head.

“I’m just a dumb teenager who’s gonna be stuck in Beacon Hills for the rest of his life.”

  

IV _. Three Months_

Stiles couldn’t shake off the things he’d said to Cora, the facts still ringing in his ears. She’d tried to reassure him that he wasn’t any of the things he’d said, but he knew it was true. He had a baby, he had a lot of complications now. He and Scott couldn’t just be boyfriends, not with Claudia in the middle. They had to be all or nothing, and he couldn’t ask that of Scott.

So he didn’t.

Instead, Stiles asked Scott to paint the nursery with him before he left for school. He only had a few more days left with his best friend, and he wanted to enjoy them. Cora and Laura had picked up Claudia for a day at the park since Cora, who had grown very attached to Claudia in the past two weeks, would be going back to school. It was his day off from the gas station and he promised his dad that he would get the nursery painted and all of Claudia’s furniture moved into it before the weekend.

“Okay, Operation Nursery is a go,” Stiles said, popping open the first paint can. The color that, admittedly, Melissa and Laura had picked out was called “pale moon,” which was just a fancy way to say so pale a yellow it was almost beige. Stiles set up the paint in the roller trays and handed Scott a roller. The Sheriff had already gone through and taped over things with painters tape just in case they, and by “they” he had definitely meant Stiles, accidentally painted too far.

“This is so weird,” Scott commented.

“That we’re painting?”

“That we’re painting your daughter’s nursery.”

Stiles rolled his own roller into the tray and tapped off the excess before applying it to the wall, watching as the stark white was replaced with a softer, gentler color. His mother had always meant to paint all of their rooms, but they’d bought the house after Stiles was a year old and mostly Claudia had spent her time and energy keeping him alive and out of trouble. Then, she got sick and she couldn’t figure out how to hold a pencil, let alone a paint roller. So it hadn’t even gotten done, because after his mother had died, there wasn’t anyone to take care of the house, really. Sure, the Stilinski men kept it clean and tidied up after themselves but nothing had moved in the 11 years it had been since. The couch, the coffee table, the dining room table, every picture, every knick knack on every shelf had not been touched since Claudia the first had been alive. Besides Stiles’ kid bed being upgraded to a double when he hit puberty and thus a growth spurt, nothing had changed.

Claudia the second was changing that.

“You’re thinking too loud, bro,” Scott said, nudging Stiles.

“Yeah, sorry. Just reminiscing a bit.”

“About what?”

“My mom. She would’ve loved Claudia. She would have been a bit angry that I got Heather pregnant, and even angrier that Heather ditched our child, but she would have adored her granddaughter.”

Scott nodded.

“You know what this calls for?” Scott asked. Stiles looked over as he set down his roller, pulled out his phone, and scrolled with a thoughtful look on his face. After a moment, he grinned, tapped the screen, and set his phone on the open windowsill. The speaker started to play what Scott always called his “music for your ears to bleed to” playlist, full of blink-182, Motion City Soundtrack, Bayside, and New Found Glory, among other bands they’d discovered together.

They danced horribly and sang along to the familiar songs while they painted, finishing the far wall, careful to avoid painting too far, and moving onto the next one. Stiles, however, in a fit of flailing limbs, rolled the paint not on the wall but over Scott’s arm as they both reached in the same direction.

“Woops,” Stiles chuckled, Scott’s tan skin tone now pale yellow, the hairs on his arms stood up in odd directions.

“Stiles!” Scott yelped before repositioning his roller and painting a solid streak right up Stiles’ chest.

“Hey! I didn’t do it on purpose!”

“Well, neither did I, then,” Scott said with a smug grin. Stiles narrowed his eyes and rolled the paint right over Scott’s face and into his hair.

“That was an accident, too.”

Scott dropped his roller and lunged from Stiles, tackling him to the ground with a playful growl. They wrestled for a moment, Stiles barely managing to gain ground before Scott grabbed his wrists and pinned him to the floor with a triumphant huff.

They were close, too close, Stiles noticed, Scott’s heat right there. They traded hot breaths as they panted.

“Stiles,” Scott said, his hair now stiff with drying, tacky paint flopping down and tickling Stiles’ forehead. Stiles’ eyes flitted to Scott’s mouth, lips slightly parted as he drew in breaths. He didn’t know what came over him, Scott’s proximity, maybe, or more likely, his own stupidity, but he surged up and connected their mouths in a kiss.

It only lasted for a moment, but it was a beautiful moment. Scott kissed back, his mouth moving with Stiles’ before he seemed to come back to himself. He shot up off of Stiles and stumbled back, touching his mouth with his fingertips gently.

“We- we- I can’t.”

He bolted from the room before Stiles had drawn himself up off the floor, or even from his back. He moved carefully, confused. Scott had never just left like that. They had always talked things through, at length with explicit detail. They didn’t just get spooked and leave.

Stiles frowned and sighed.

He wanted to go after Scott, but he had a responsibility. He had to paint the nursery and get Claudia’s furniture into it. He had promised. But he was terrified that he had messed everything up between them. You don’t go kissing your best friend, not without permission or discussion. 

He hoped he hadn’t ruined their friendship. He valued his friendship more than he did kissing. He always had.

This is what happens when he listened to Cora, he thought, picking himself up and grabbing his abandoned roller.

-&- 

He finished painting by himself and Cora, while Laura was entertaining Claudia in the living room, helped him move everything into the nursery without question.

“Where’s Scott?” she asked finally.

“I kissed him and he left.”

Cora cooed sadly. “I’m sorry, Stiles. I didn’t think that he-”

“Yeah, neither did I. I don’t know what to do, so I’m trying not to think about it. I’m going to take care of my daughter and go to work tomorrow and move on like none of this ever happened.”

Cora nodded and let Stiles be while they dragged in the changing table and dresser that the Hales had had extra. The Hales had been amazing, donating all of their leftover baby supplies and offering any help they could where they could. Stiles was glad he had support from so many wonderful people.

“Look, this is the last time I’ll say anything, but maybe he’s just as scared as you are. Maybe he wants you that way, too, but is afraid you’ll break up and he’ll lose his best friend,” Cora offered once everything was inside the nursery and situated where it needed to be.

“Or maybe he doesn’t want me like that and he’s afraid to tell me because he doesn’t want to hurt my feelings,” Stiles countered. He carefully peeled tape from the edges of the window frames and from the light switches and electrical outlets. They worked side by side without saying a word until Laura swept in, arms full of a fussy Claudia with a frown on her face.

“I think she misses her daddy,” she explained before pushing Claudia into his arms. She quieted slightly, still making small fussy whines, curling into his embrace.

“Oh, it’s okay, boo. I’m here. I didn’t go anywhere. I was just fixing your room up all nice so you can have your own room to sleep in. It’s yellow and pretty, just like you, and look, your stuffed elephant is here. Isn’t that great?”

He paused and Claudia let out a burble of spit in reply.

“You’re right, Claudia. It doesn’t have nearly enough elephant in it. We’ll just have to go to the story when Daddy gets home from work tomorrow and pick out some decorations for the wall. I’m thinking zoo animals. What about you, Claudia Rose? Do you want some zoo animals? Like lions, and tigers, and bears,” he said.

“Oh, my,” Cora and Laura chorused from where they were sorting out her clothes from the bag Stiles had stuffed them in.

“And there will be zebras, and giraffes. Wolves, like your aunt Cora and Laura.”

“Rude! We are not wolves!” Cora exclaimed. “Don’t feed my goddaughter lies!”

“Well, they certainly eat like wolves,” Stiles explained to his daughter. She rested her head on his chest, curling her hand in the fabric of his shirt. He used his free hand to rub her back, settling her down completely. She closed her eyes and let out a big yawn. “Wow, your aunties must’ve worn you out real good.”

“Yeah, Cora and Claudia went down the slide and Claudia loved it. Claudia went on the swing, and we took her on the see-saw.”

“Are there pictures?” Stiles asked, sinking down into the Hale secondhand rocking chair.

“Plenty. I’ll post them to Facebook for you and tag you in them.” 

Stiles rocked easily, resting his head back on the chair and closing his eyes. Just for a minute, he thought.

Just for a min-

When he opened them, all he saw was yellow. He reached up with the hand not holding Claudia and peeled the post-it from his forehead.

 

**_You looked so peaceful! We’re downstairs! –C &L _ **

 

He stood carefully, and shifted Claudia into his arms before easing her into the crib.

“I love you, Claudia Rose,” he whispered, tucking the baby monitor into a safe spot in the crib and pocketing the other. He backed slowly and soundlessly out of the room, grabbing his phone from where one of the Hales had set it on the dresser and pulled the door shut. Talia had taught him this trick where you loop a piece of fabric over both sides of the doorknob so it covers the latch. It dampens the sound and won’t wake the baby when you shut the door.

He padded downstairs and into the kitchen where his father was being entertained by the Hales making dinner, which meant they were mostly bickering back and forth while they chopped or stirred.

“Hey Dad.”

“Hey Sties. The nursery done finally?”

“Yeah. I think I’m gonna take Claudia to pick out a theme for the decorations, but the painting and the moving furniture is done,” he replied, sinking into a barstool at the island. He pulled out the monitor from his pocket, turned the volume knob up, and set it on the counter near the bread box.

“Anything in mind?”

“Something woodsy, maybe, or zoo animals,” Stiles replied, unlocking his phone and finding a missed call from Scott and a voicemail waiting for him. He opened his voicemail and found the audio clip labeled with Scott’s name, and with shaky fingers, he pressed play and held the phone up to his ear.

“Hey Stiles, it’s Scott. Uhm, I was hoping to talk to you, but I guess it’s better if I do it this way. Look, I’m leaving for school in a couple days so I thought it would be better if I stayed away until break, just so we could have time to clear our heads. I’m sorry. I don’t want to mess things up with us, Stiles. I was hoping that we could just stay friends. That’s all I have to say. I’ll see you when I get back.”

Stiles’ heart ached in his chest, felt heavy as if it wanted to drop from his ribcage and sink into his gut. He completely understood, and that’s what he hated the most. This was his best friend so of course he would know exactly why Scott didn’t want to be with him. He wasn’t sure if that made things better or worse, but he didn’t have much of a choice either way.

“Why do you look like someone just kicked you in the balls?” Laura asked.

Cora glanced up from her sauce and abandoned it, circling the island and throwing herself into Stiles’ lap. He wrapped her in a hug as she did the same.

“It’s okay,” he assured her. “He just wants some time apart.”

“Can you handle that?”

“I’ve survived a lot,” he said. “I’ll probably survive this.”

-&- 

Cora organized a last minute get together for everyone leaving for college at the Stilinski household, so Stiles could see everyone, and mostly so everyone else could see Claudia. That’s all anyone wanted from Stiles since the beginning of summer, and he was okay with it. Claudia was pretty great.

Kira showed up with a gift from her parents for Stiles and a full cheesecake that she had baked herself.

“It’s nothing,” she said with a shrug and went to sit with Claudia who was begrudgingly enjoying Tummy Time.

Lydia and Allison appeared as well, carrying a cheese plate and a vegetable tray respectively.

“Was it Cora’s mission to feed an army?” he asked as Isaac and Erica came in with a stack of Styrofoam containers that smelled strongly of pepperoni, Boyd in tow with an armful of two liters. “Or is this because she’s afraid I can’t feed myself _AND_ my child so she’s leaving me large amounts of leftovers?”

“Both,” Cora announced as she paraded in the door, carrying a large amount of food and setting it in the kitchen with the rest of the bounty the group had brought them.

“Good to know. What’s on the agenda, by the way?”

“Board games!” Cora announced, lifting up a bag he hadn’t noticed before. “I figure Claudia doesn’t like movies or video games, so we might as well get nostalgic for our childhoods with some Monopoly and Scattergories.”

Isaac groaned.

“I’m horrible at Scattergories.”

“Perfect! Even more reason to play, then!” Cora said teasingly. Stiles watched as she opened the containers and let the different aromas waft around the bottom floor of the Stilinski house. “Hey, Stiles.”

“Yeah?”

“What did you settle on for Claudia’s nursery? I never asked.”

“Oh, deer in the forest.”

“Oh, excellent! I wanted to say something about the zoo animals idea, but didn’t know if it was my place. Does Claudia like it?”

“She doesn’t much care. She just likes to sleep and eat, and judge me with a look.”

Cora let out a wonderful laugh. She was far more chipper than she ever had been, at least since puberty, Stiles thought. He wasn’t sure what was up with her, but it was freaking him out.

“Cora, why are you so happy?” Lydia asked for him, though.

He was glad it wasn’t just him.

“Can’t I just be in a good mood for no reason?” Cora asked, trying to act offended even as a small smile graced her face. She was beautiful, Stiles had always thought, with or without the smile. She was a Hale. Of course, she was beautiful, it was in their genes, encoded deep into their DNA. But when she smiled, she could light up the world.

“You could be,” Lydia countered, “but you’re not.”

She ran her hand through her hair before Isaac piped up, “Cora and I are dating.”

The room broke out in tumultuous clamor, each member of their group trying to talking over each other, asking how and when and why they hadn’t told them and giving their loud congratulations, until Claudia decided that was enough.

She let out a loud, angry wail, grabbing everyone’s attention.

Kira lifted her up off her tummy and held her close instinctually. Claudia settled down with the quiet and with Kira’s touch. Claudia’s hair had decided it wanted to be unruly after her bath the night before, and now it clung to Kira’s shirt with static, even after Kira smoothed it down with her hair.

“So,” Stiles said, sliding up next to Cora. “Isaac, huh?”

“Well, yeah. I thought you knew.”

“I had an inkling,” Stiles confessed. “But I never thought either one of you would get up the courage to do anything about it.”

Cora slung her arm over his shoulder as they watched Kira stand Claudia up on shaky legs by her waist and talk to her about her daddy’s friends being crazy.

“Well, _you_ did,” Cora offered.

“Yeah, but Scott rejected me.”

“But you went for it. You decided to throw caution to the wind and you put yourself out there, and I was proud of you for that, thought you had been brave because you knew what you could lose. And I wanted to be that brave.”

Stiles let his head rest against hers, sighing.

“I’m glad it worked out for you, Cora.”

“It’ll work out for you, too, even if it’s not with Scott. You’ll find some boy or girl that catches your eye and you’ll catch theirs, and they’ll love your daughter just the way they should.”

Stiles sighed.

“Besides, until that happens, you’ve got all of us that will hang out with and love you, even if a certain someone won’t.”

 

 V. _Five Months_

Claudia sucked down bottles like they were going out of fashion. She also had reached Stiles’ favorite stage so far, where she found anything remotely interesting and investigated it by trying to eat it. She could roll from her tummy to her back, and unfortunately, from her back to her tummy, which meant that Stiles couldn’t leave anything at all on the floor.

She was a menace already, knowing that when she threw her toy or pacifier, Stiles or the Sheriff or Laura would pick it up, so she did it. Over and over and over again, laughing every time.

“This child,” Laura said as Stiles walked in the door of the Hale house. He picked Claudia up later than every other parent, so she was the only one getting Laura’s attention at the time.

“What’d she do this time?”

“I rue the day she starts to crawl, walk, or talk,” the caretaker replied leading Stiles into the backroom where Claudia was down for her nap. Stiles set his hand carefully on Claudia’s belly, her face soft and relaxed while she slept.

“Sorry she’s so,” Stiles started and finished with a flail of his hand.

“I wouldn’t expect any less, if I’m honest, but today she was just,” Laura explained and let out a slow breath.

“Particularly cranky, was she?”

“Yes. Nothing made her happy. She just would not stop crying most of the day, no matter what I did. I fed her, changed her, put on her favorite movie, bounced with her, played with her, sang to her, nothing. When I finally got her down, it was like the entire house let out a sigh of relief.”

Stiles roused Claudia slowly. He tickled the bottom of her feet and spoke softly to her, telling her it was time to wake up. Her face shifted instantly from sleepy and peaceful to angry and disgruntled.

“Oh, tonight is gonna be fun, isn’t it, boo?” he cooed as he lifted her up and set her against his chest. Her eyebrows furrowed and her face scrunched up, but thankfully she didn’t start crying. She just didn’t look interested in being awake, her small mouth yawning and breaking the spell for a moment. “Thanks, Laur. I’ll have your payment tomorrow.”

“Okay, that’s fine.”

He carried Claudia into the entryway where he’d left the car seat that morning.

“How come the house is empty?” Stiles asked, laying Claudia into the seat and working her little shoes onto her feet and then her small jacket onto her arms.

“Mom and Dad are both working late. Peter took Malia and Joshua to pick up their costumes, and Derek is-”

The door opened and Derek walked in, greeting them with a weary nod before disappearing upstairs without a word.

“Right here. What are you and Claudia doing for Halloween?”

“I hadn’t really thought about it,” Stiles said. He had been vaguely aware that Halloween was coming up, what with the decorations at the gas station and at the Hale house and the increasingly sour look on his father’s face when he came home.

“Well, I take kids Trick or Treating if their parents can’t, if you want to come. You can dress Claudia up in something adorable.”

Stiles nodded.

“That sounds good. Any ideas where I could pick up a cheap infant costume this late?”

“Most parents get them from Babies R Us, I think,” Laura replied while Stiles snapped the straps on the car set. Claudia glared at him.

“Yes, Clauds, I know, you are not a fan of anything. Put the sour face away.”

She let out a whining burble, blowing spit at him in retaliation.

“You’re a brat. You’re cute. But you’re a brat.”

He sighed and lifted the car seat by the handle and said goodbye to Laura as he carried his daughter to the car. He settled the seat into the base with a snap just as Claudia screwed up her face and began to cry, loudly and violently.

“It is going to be a _very_ long night, apparently." 

-&-

“Oh!” Laura answered the door, the sound of rambunctious children shouting and yelling at each other drifted out onto the porch to greet Stiles. “She is adorable, come on in.”

Stiles shifted Claudia on his hip as he followed Laura into the living room where several children were waiting not-so-patiently for it to be Trick or Treating time. Derek greeted Stiles, two toddlers, a Superman and a ballerina, latched onto his legs and a kindergartener dressed as Robin Hood dangled from his arm.

“Having a good time?” Stiles asked, setting Claudia down with a boy her own age dressed as a dragon. If Claudia hadn’t been the menace she was, he might worry, seeing as she was dressed in her lamb costume. But his daughter was a bit of a brute, even before she could walk or talk. She had a tendency to knock of anyone’s toys that weren’t her own.

Stiles had, unfortunately, been the same way.

So had Heather.

Claudia didn’t stand a chance.

“Oh, I am just overjoyed to be used as a human jungle gym. Can’t you tell?” Derek deadpanned. Derek and Stiles didn’t know each other, not well. Stiles spent most of his time at the Hale house with Cora pre-Claudia, and post-Claudia with Laura or Talia, fishing for parenting tips. Any interactions he had with Derek were passing and merely coincidental.

“I dunno, it looks like it must be the most thrilling thing. You should start selling tickets, take it up as your profession.”

Derek started to open his mouth when Laura swept in and tickled his stomach, causing him to fold in on himself and stutter out a laugh. Stiles snorted involuntarily and helped Robin Hood off the ground where he’d been dumped.

“You okay, Mr. Robin Hood?” he asked. The boy grinned at him and nodded before he darted after a little girl dressed as a football player for the _Giants_ of all teams, her long blond hair pulled up into a ponytail that cascaded over the back of her jersey.

“Didn’t know you had a weakness,” Stiles commented as one of the toddlers, Superman spotted something of more interest and flung himself after it on chubby, wobbly legs. The other, though, the ballerina was firmly rooted around Derek’s leg. “Although I’m not sure if it’s the ticklish stomach or strange small children.”

Derek leaned down and scooped the ballerina from his leg and set her on his hip. Her black hair was pulled back in an attempt at a bun, her tanned skin darker against the light pink of her unitard.

“This one’s mine, actually,” he replied. “Madison, this is Stiles. Stiles, this is Madison.”

Madison hid her face into her dad’s shoulder and peaked one eye out at him.

“She’s a bit shy.”

“That’s okay. She’s adorable,” Stiles said. “I didn’t realize you had a kid, Derek.”

“She spends most of her time with her mom,” Derek replied, tugging Madison’s unitard down, “but her mom is working so I got her for tonight. I’m actually surprised Laura didn’t tell you, or make Maddie and Claudia have a play date.”

“It’s probably better for Madison if they don’t. Claudia might traumatize her.”

Derek laughed.

“Down,” Madison demanded after deciding she’d had enough of them. Derek set her down and she ran off after Superman with a mess of toddler-style babble. Stiles leaned to check on Claudia while Laura called for Derek.

“Oh, no. No, no.”

Claudia looked up at the sound of his voice with a look of surprise. He circled the couch and dropped down next to her. He stuck his finger in her mouth and forced the Duplo block out of her mouth.

“Where did you even- how did you fit- you are going to give me a heart attack, Claudia Rose.”

Madison toddled over and sat next to the dragon boy, staring at Stiles and Claudia.

“Hi Madison,” he said.

“Hi,” she replied quietly.

Madison scooted over the carpet and sat closer to Claudia. They played together for a few minutes, Claudia for once not taking anything or knocking anything over out of spite. Madison babbled at Claudia in her toddler talk while Claudia made burbling noises and vowel sounds. Laura and Derek led a parade of small children into the living room.

“Okay, it’s time to go,” Laura announced. Derek swept around the couch and swung Madison up into his arms easily. Laura came around and picked up the dragon boy, while Stiles lifted up and stood with Claudia in his own arms, tweaking her nose gently.

“You ready to go, boo? You want to show off your little lamb butt to get candy that you can’t actually eat? Because that’s what I want.”

“Are you using your infant daughter for free candy?” Laura asked, wrangling all of the kids into a crowd around her.

“Yeah,” Stiles replied. “Got a problem with that?”

Claudia pulled one of his hoodie strings, wrapping her pudgy baby hand around it and shoving the end of it into her mouth.

“Yes! You shameless, despicable creature,” Laura retorted, counting heads around her.

“Don’t listen to her. I did it with Madison when she was born. Laura would do it if she had her own kid. Pretty sure Mom did it with Laura when she was young, and me, and Cora. It’s the benefit of having children too small for candy but old enough to be out for Trick or Treating,” Derek said, holding his free hand up to Laura to stop her before she interrupted. “Trick or Treating has to have some perks, especially when you’re an adult.”

Stiles laughed and tugged the string from Claudia’s mouth.

“Despicable,” Laura stated with a shake of her head. “Okay, kids. Time to climb aboard the candy mobile.”

The group of kids tore off towards the large SUV parked in the driveway.

“I’ll meet you guys downtown,” Stiles offered, gesturing with his daughter to his Jeep parked beside the Hale candy mobile.

“We’re going to park at the library,” Laura replied. “Is that alright?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

Stiles worked quickly to get Claudia into her car seat, which she protested with a grunt as he clipped her in. He settled into his own seat and started the engine, turning on Claudia’s favorite CD, which was a mix of gentle acoustic punk songs and old girl rocker songs that his mother used to play on the loudest setting. Claudia never shouted or screamed during this CD, so he assumed she liked it more than the other ones. Personally, he liked anything more than others if Claudia didn’t scream during it.

Which is why, surprisingly, Stiles liked Trick or Treating with his infant daughter. She didn’t cry or scream as they went door to door, and she even giggled as the kids in their group shouted for candy at each door.

He also got to spend the night with Laura’s hot brother who made adorable, witty remarks and bantered with Stiles over who was gonna take Claudia’s taffy and who was gonna get her chocolate bars. Stiles agreed to let Derek have the chocolate from Claudia’s bag if he could have the Starbursts and Laffy Taffy from Madison’s, and if Derek didn’t say a word to the Sheriff about Stiles trading away the Kit Kats and the Crunch bars.

“Okay, well, this is where Claudia and I leave you,” Stiles said as they reached the full circuit and ended back at the library parking lot. There were a group of teenagers lounged on the back steps, smoking a cigarette and passing it around with easy laughs. Stiles didn’t have the energy to scare them off, even if he was raised by a cop and that was in his blood.

Derek followed Stiles to his Jeep while Laura rounded the kids into their seats in the Hale candy mobile. He set a sleepy Madison on the front seat while Stiles settled a grumpy Claudia back into her car seat.

“Do you want to go on a date with me?” Derek asked while Stiles picked up the pacifier. Stiles glanced over his shoulder as he stuck the binky end into Claudia’s mouth before grumpy turned into cranky and unbearable.

“What?”

“Look, it’s not very often that I get to hang out with an adult that I get along with, or like. And I like you, Stiles. Our daughters get along, and we get along, so do you want to get some dinner with me?”

Stiles sank into the driver’s seat and raised his eyebrows at Derek, who smiled this stunning, rare smile back at him. Stiles couldn’t stop himself from smiling in return and nodding.

“I have Sunday night off,” he replied with a shrug. “And so does my dad, so he can watch Claudia.”

“Paige has Maddie that night,” Derek said.

“Pick me up at 7?”

“Can’t wait.”

-&- 

“I’ve never been on a date,” Stiles said while pacing up and down the room, two shirts clenched in his fists.

“It’s going to be alright,” Lydia said from the Skype call open on his laptop screen.

“It’s not. Alright, it’s not! Why did I say yes? I’m not a date kind of person. I wipe up baby spit up and I check out people who want gas and candy bars. I don’t do _dates_. I don’t- I can’t do the, the flirting and small talk and kissing on front porch steps. I sing along to Bob the Builder.”

“Stiles,” Lydia said. “Come sit. Talk to me in sentences. Explain why you’re so messed up about this.”

“It’s a Hale. Derek Hale. Cora’s older brother. And he’s older than us, by a lot. But he wants to go on a date with me. With me, alone. With no kids, and no bright colors, and no bright, happy songs. He wants me, and no one wants me. Even the mother of my child doesn’t want anything to do with me, and we grew up together. No one wants to date me, Lydia. My best friend doesn’t want to date me.”

“Derek wants to,” Lydia cut in. “He wants to because you’re a great guy, and a great father, and Derek recognizes that.”

Stiles whined and dropped his head down on the desk.

“You don’t have to,” Lydia started. “You can cancel.”

“I can’t. Have you seen Derek Hale? He’s perfect in every way. He’s hot, and funny, and he has these eyes, and this fucking smile. I can’t cancel on _Derek Hale_.”

“He’s not that attractive.”

“Yes, he is.”

“Yes, he is,” Lydia echoed. “Show me those shirts. Let’s make you the hottest, most well-dressed gas station attendant single father.”

-&-

Derek was funny, and smart. He made Stiles laugh, and he could keep up with Stiles, and he was everything Stiles could want in a date. He touched Stiles with gentle, almost reverent touches, and asked Stiles about his life even though Stiles was 18 and just graduated from high school. He was good, and Stiles liked him.

“I have to be honest,” Stiles said as they sat in Derek’s fancy Camaro in front of Stiles’ house. The Sheriff’s car was gone, which probably meant that the Sheriff was visiting Melissa. “I’ve never been on a date before, but this was fun. I think, since I have nothing to compare it to.”

“Ever?”

“No.”

“You have a kid,” Derek reminded him. Stiles laughed, resting his head back against the seat and watched Derek out of the corner of his eye.

“Her mother wasn’t my girlfriend. She was a friend who wanted to lose her virginity on her birthday, and I accidentally knocked her up.”

“Paige and I were engaged,” Derek replied. “We were engaged and then she got pregnant and we couldn’t handle the stress of being parents together, so we broke up, and Paige has custody of Maddie.”

They sat for a second before Stiles started laughing.

“We’re so fucked up.”

Derek started laughing with Stiles and reached over to grab Stiles’ hand. Stiles looked over and those blue green grey brown impossible eyes were staring at him. Then they were kissing, and it was good, and Stiles wanted more because people didn’t kiss Stiles.

“You wanna come inside?”

Derek pulled away and looked over his shoulder.

“Do you want me to come inside?”

“Yes. I definitely want you to come. Inside. The house, my house. That’s not a euphemism.”

Derek shut him up with a long, intense kiss, tongue flicking at his top lip as if seeking permission. Stiles sighed happily into the kiss, allowing Derek’s tongue to lick into his mouth.

“Inside,” he said.

“Inside,” Derek agreed. They broke apart long enough to climbed out of the car and Stiles to lead them up into the house. Derek pressed him into the entryway wall, and kissed along Stiles’ throat and jaw. Stiles gripped his hair and dragged him closer, connecting their hips and grinding forward into Derek.

“Is your dad going to come home soon?”

“God, I really hope not.”

Derek laughed and dragged Stiles away from the wall.

“Bedroom?”

“Bedroom.”

Stiles led them upstairs and into his bedroom before shutting the door behind them.

VI. _Six Months_

“What are you doing for Thanksgiving?” Derek asked, setting Madison down with Claudia who was trying to rock back and forth on her hands and knees before kissing Stiles softly.

“I’m taking Claudia to Iowa.”

“What’s in Iowa?”

“My grandmother and grandfather,” Stiles answered. “What about you?”

“Big Hale Thanksgiving. Cora wants to see you before you go, then.”

“Why do you ask?”

“I was going to invite you to the big Hale Thanksgiving Extravaganza,” Derek said, falling into the couch cushion. He shifted and pulled one of Claudia’s toys out from underneath him. “Because you’re practically part of the family anyway. My mom loves you and Laura thinks you’re the greatest thing in the world and Lord knows you’re Cora’s favorite.”

“I won’t be home for Thanksgiving, but I can stop by when we get back from Iowa.”

He sank onto the couch beside Derek and watched their daughters play near each other. Maddie pushed one of the train sets that Stiles bought for Claudia back and forth, almost in time with Claudia’s rocking back and forth.

“What day?”

“Saturday. What day does Cora go back?”

“Monday.”

“Okay, I’ll stop by with Clauds on Sunday. Do you have Maddie that day?”

Stiles liked this, like how easily they fell in together. Their schedules didn’t match up well, since Derek worked 9 to 5, Monday through Friday at an office and Stiles worked whatever shift his managers gave him on whatever day they gave him. They often didn’t see each other for days at a time, talking only through text messages or short phone calls before Derek went to sleep. But still, they fit easily, and it was just simple.

“I do, actually. So Claudia will have someone to play with. Unfortunately, my family will still be in town on Sunday so you will have to meet them. All of them.”

“Oh, the infamous extended Hale clan.”

Derek laughed and twined their hands together. Stiles rested his head wearily on Derek’s shoulder and sighed.

“I want to sleep forever. Claudia woke up twice last night, even though she’s been sleeping through the night for months.”

“Madison sometimes wakes up in the middle of the night and won’t go back to sleep, so I get it.”

Derek let Stiles curl into his side even though Derek had been the one at work all day and Stiles had been at home with his daughter. Claudia was close to crawling and Stiles was prepared to start chasing after her so he wanted to sleep whenever he could, especially if that meant curled around a thoughtful, attractive man who wanted him there.

“Go to sleep,” Derek told him, pressing a kiss into Stiles’ forehead. “I’ll look after the girls." 

-&-

“Szczepan!” Nana hollered from the kitchen. “Bring that baby in here!”

Stiles handed his jacket off to his grandfather who smiled. Stiles set the car seat on the floor and lifted Claudia out of it, resting her against him.

“Good to see you, Stiles. Your father coming in, or?”

Stiles looked out the still open door at his father who was sat at the wheel of the SUV, staring straight ahead. Thanksgiving was probably the Sheriff’s least favorite times, considering his parents tended to be overbearing and obsessive.

“Your guess is as good as mine, Gramps.”

Stiles carried his daughter into the kitchen where his grandmother had her head stuck in the oven.

“Hey Nana,” he said, dropping the diaper bag in the corner by the breakfast nook. “There’s someone who wants to meet you.”

She shut the oven and set her baster on the counter with an oven mitt and turned to Stiles, her greying hair swept into a ponytail.

“Well, hello Claudia.”

She lifted Claudia out of Stiles’ arms and brushed Claudia’s mess of dark hair back away from her face.

“Claudia Rose Stilinski,” she cooed. “You are a beauty. Yes, you are. Look at those eyes.”

Her eyes had started to change colors, Stiles had noticed, shifting away from blue. He wondered if she would get his eyes or Heather’s.

“Where’s Aunt Peg?” Stiles asked, looking around. Peg, whose birth name was Margaret, was his father’s sister and they didn’t get along. Peg was a free spirit, that’s what Stiles had grown up hearing, and she tended to be very hard to pin down for even a single day.

“Oh, you know,” Nana said with a wave of his free hand. “You know how Peg is, Stiles. She’s around and she’ll show up when she wants.”

“Is that how you talk about your only daughter, Mom?” Peg asked, her voice airy as it always had been as she breezed into the kitchen with her father. She was tall, leggy, and blonde, which was basically everything a Stilinski wasn’t. Most of the Stilinskis were hardy folks, sturdy and steady, and Peg was not. She was flighty, fashionable, and a little bit of a flower child, if Stiles was honest.

“Leave Mom alone, Peg,” the Sheriff said, following the pair. “I would like to get through one year without a fight, please.”

“I would also like to mention that if there is yelling this year, my daughter will start crying and screaming,” Stiles piped up.

“Your- what?”

Stiles gestured to the baby trying to gnaw on Nana’s fingers.

“Oh, hello,” Peg said, her eyes finally finding Claudia. “No one told me my nephew had a child.”

She gave an accusatory glare at everyone, including Stiles, before stooping in front of Nana to make faces at Claudia.

“Is there anything I can do to help with dinner, Nana?” Stiles asked.

“Oh, that’s very kind of you, Stiles. If you could check on Peg’s stuffing, make sure it’s not burning.”

Peg was a vegetarian, had been for as long as Stiles could remember, which was another very non-Stilinski trait. He sometimes wondered how Peg and his father had been born from the same woman, or how they came from the same family tree.

Stiles checked the stuffing and then took the boiling water full of potatoes off the stove. Nana directed him through the steps of making the rest of Thanksgiving dinner while she and Peg played with Claudia, and the men watched football, quietly, in the living room. He liked cooking, and if he had a recipe, he could do it well. He wasn’t naturally gifted like his mother had been, throwing things together haphazardly and coming out with a delightful new dish. But he was decent in the kitchen, out of necessity more than desire.

Besides, with his Nana standing by, there really wasn’t much he could do to fuck everything up, even if he wasn’t a decent cook.

He finished dinner by himself and Peg helped him set the table.

“You should stop by more often,” Stiles said, setting plates where Peg had placed the mats. “Claudia doesn’t have a lot of family since her mom left. It’s just me and Dad, and she deserves to have a big family. Her other grandparents aren’t around much since her mom dropped her with me, and it’s just me and Dad.”

“Your daughter deserves more than to hear your father and I fight, Stiles,” Peg answered.

“Please, Aunt Peg?”

She stopped and he caught her gaze, holding it. She sighed.

“I’ll try." 

-&-

The Hale family was more than four times the size of the Stilinski family. Stiles had always had a small family. His father had one sister who had had no children, and no spouse. His mother’s family had moved back to Poland after Claudia had died, and even before he had just had Babcia. It had always just been Stiles and his dad since he was nine years old, since Peg blew in and out on a light breeze, Nana and Grandpa Stilinski lived in Iowa, and Babcia lived in a tiny village in Poland.

Derek, though, had grown up with cousins galore, with numerous aunts and uncles. He had siblings, and both of his parents, as well as both sets of grandparents. Derek had been surrounded by family his entire life, and Stiles was overwhelmed the second he walked into the door the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

Claudia was still cranky from their long car ride the day before, and she looked about as thrilled as Stiles felt, her face scrunching up in distaste as Stiles carried her into the living room.

“Hey!” Derek said brightly. “I’m glad you made it!”

Stiles set Claudia down in a quiet corner where Madison was playing with blocks.

“Hey,” he said in reply. He sank into the chair near the kids and rested his head on the back. “My head is killing me. My dad and aunt did nothing but fight the entire weekend, which made my Nana upset, and Claudia doesn’t like it so she’s been crying for like three days straight, and-”

Derek sank into the chair on top of Stiles and kissed him to shut him up. Stiles sighed happily as they broke apart and rested his face in Derek’s chest. Derek stroked his hair and made shushing noises.

“Where does it hurt?”

Stiles gestured to his head, all over his head. Derek pressed his fingertips into his temples and drew gentle circles before dragging the pressure through his scalp. Stiles hummed as the massage continued.

“Thank you.”

“My family’s in the kitchen,” Derek said quietly.

“Ew.”

“Stiles,” he chastised. “Come on.”

Stiles sighed and nodded. Derek climbed off Stiles and dragged him up, leading him by hand to the kitchen. They were met by Cora launching herself at Stiles, breaking the hold Derek had on his hand.

“Stilinski,” she whined into his neck.

“Hey Hale. I missed you.”

“Missed you too. Where’s your kid?”

“In the living ro-”

He hadn’t even finished speaking when she let go of him and dashed around him to go into the living room. He laughed and went to stand by Derek.

“Who’s the handsome young man, Derek?” a woman that looked more like Derek’s father than Talia said.

“That’s Stiles,” Laura answered for Derek. “He’s Derek’s boyfriend, and one of my clients.”

“He is?” another woman, this time more Talia than Andrew, asked.

“I watch his daughter,” Laura replied. “She’s adorable, and Cora is hogging her right now, but you’ll see her later, hopefully.”

“You’re a parent,” an older man with greying dark hair that Stiles couldn’t decide where he belonged stated, an air of distaste in his voice. “You’re a child yourself. Where’s the mother?”

“Dad,” Andrew scolded. “Don’t be rude.”

“What? Andrew, this fetus has a child! In my day, they would be married the second the test turned positive. But instead this child is, what? Messing around with my grandson? The grandson who also isn’t married to the mother of his child?”

“Dad! You’re being rude,” Andrew stated loudly.

“Don’t speak to me like that! I am still your father!”

“Stiles is a guest in our house, Dad, and I will not allow you to speak to him like that while he is a guest in our house.”

“It’s not a big deal,” Stiles tried to say but Laura and Derek both clapped their hands over his mouth.

“He needs to say this,” Derek told him quietly and he felt himself nod.

“I invited you to stay with us because it is Thanksgiving, and I thought you could behave. You have voiced your disagreement with Derek’s choice to be a single father, and we understand that you have a right to that disagreement, but you will not take that out on your grandson or Stiles. They are raising their children, with or without the mothers, and you’re just going to have to deal with that. Your approval, or lack thereof does not change their lives or their decisions, so if you’re going to stay in my house, you’re going to keep that opinion to yourself or you’re going to stay at a hotel until Mom is ready to leave. Is that clear?” 

Andrew’s father looked shell-shocked and didn’t respond for a moment. The kitchen was quiet, except the sounds of Claudia’s delighted giggles and Maddie’s half-formed toddler babbles.

“Okay.”

 

VII. _Twelve Months_

“Happy birthday,” Stiles cooed at Claudia who was standing in her crib, waiting for Stiles to come get her, and lifted her out of the crib. “You’re a year old today, baby. It’s your birthday. Yeah, it is.”

She grabbed onto his shirt and said, “Dada!”

“Yeah, baby. Good job. I’m Dada.”

“Mill!”

“You want milk, baby girl!”

“Mill!” she agreed.

Stiles laid her on the changing table and changed her out of her dirty diaper. He put her in an elephant onesie and tickled the bottom of her feet. She pulled her body and giggled before rolling over and pushing herself up easily. Stiles kept his hands on her waist as she toddled uneasily on the top of the table.

“You and I have been together for almost a year, do you know that? When you were three weeks old, your mom came here and handed you to me, and my life changed. She changed my life when she let me have you. I don’t know where either one of us would be if she’d tried to be a mother, but you’ve got me now so it doesn’t matter where we would’ve been.”

Claudia spoke back at him in long, babbling sentences, and he smiled as he lifted her up off the table and set her on the ground.

“Let’s go get some breakfast, okay? Then, we’re going to the Hale house to see Laura and Derek. Are you excited for that, Claudia Rose?”

“Lala!” Claudia shrieked as Stiles led her by the hand out of the room and down the hallway.

“That’s right, Claudia! We’re gonna see Lala!”

With one hand helping Claudia and one hand balancing himself, they took the steps slowly one at a time. Claudia told him a story on the way down, even as she concentrated on getting her little body down the steep steps.

Stiles set her in her highchair at the end of the island island once they reached the kitchen together and strapped her in, setting the tray in place. He tipped a fair amount of the Gerber yogurt puffs that Claudia tended to shove into her mouth like they were the only thing keeping her alive. Stiles poured milk into her favorite sippy cup, the blue one with the green lid, and set it on the tray before scouring for his own food.

He put together a simple breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast for himself while he mashed up a banana for Claudia to go with Cheerios that he poured directly onto her tray as she finished her yogurt puffs. Finished meaning she had realized her breakfast was coming so she grabbed as many as she could and shoved them into her mouth to make it seem like she was ready for her breakfast.

“Drink your milk, Claudia, or I’ll tell Lala.”

Claudia grabbed a handful of Cheerios and sloppily pushed them into her mouth.

“You are disgusting.”

“You were way worse at that age,” the Sheriff said, finally wandering down into the kitchen with a yawn. “Your mother would turn around for a second and when she turned back, you would be covered in mud, or food, or god knows what else you could get into. By the time she got you clean again, you had found something else to get into. It was amazing.”

Stiles watched his father kiss Claudia’s head and whisper a happy birthday into her hair before moving to the coffee pot and starting a pot of coffee. Coffee didn’t affect Stiles the way it did everyone else, what with his ADHD. It slowed him down rather than sped him up, so he normally reserved it for nights when he didn’t want to think so fast, nights when he couldn’t sleep, days at work when he had forgotten to take his meds before he left. However, the brewing coffee smelled delicious, and he wanted a cup.

“We’re going to the Hales to see Laura and Derek if you want to come with, Dad.”

“No, I’ll see them on Saturday for the party.”

Stiles got ready to leave, changing his clothes while his father stayed with Claudia, and set up the diaper bag. He always felt silly for bringing diapers and changes of clothes to the Hale house because Laura’s daycare was the motherlode of diapers and onesies of all sizes, but he liked to be prepared.

“Oh, Claudia,” Stiles heard his father coo. Stiles sighed and returned to the kitchen, found his father and daughter covered in milk.

“How?”

“She’s your daughter, Stiles. I don’t bother to ask that anymore." 

-&-

Claudia’s first birthday party was hosted in the backyard of the Stilinski house, and Laura had planned it all. Stiles and Derek spent most of the morning moving tables back and forth until Laura was satisfied while Cora, with Isaac in tow, entertained Claudia on a blanket near the house.

Stiles had invited everyone, all of his friends, coworkers, and his family as well as the Hales. He’d even sent an invite to Scott, because Scott loved Claudia even if Scott hadn’t talked to Stiles in almost a year. He deserved an invitation, even if he didn’t want to show.

Stiles really hoped he showed.

The late spring sun sat fat and satiated in the middle of the sky when the first guests started to make their way through the gate. First came the rest of the available Hale clan, then his father, and Stiles lost track from there, making sure that Claudia wasn’t too overwhelmed by everyone and everything happening around her. Paige, Derek’s ex and Maddie’s mother, dropped Madison off soon after the Hales so Claudia had someone to play with, and since Claudia could walk now, albeit unsteadily, it was much easier for the girls to actually play.

“Hey,” Lydia said, swinging through the gate, looking perfect as always, with a bag dangling from her arm like it was a purse. “This looks great! Who planned it?”

“You say that like I couldn’t possibly be able of putting together a party by myself.”

“Your birthday parties growing up were you and Scott,” Lydia reminded him.

“Good point,” he said. “Laura was our party planner. Not that she gave us much choice in the matter.”

“It would’ve been cake and presents with nothing fun, otherwise,” Laura said as she started to pass them.

“Rude! Cake and presents are fun!”

“Not for a one year old, and certainly not for the rest of the kids.”

Laura had invited the kids that Claudia went to daycare with, too, and had planned for their entertainment since Claudia was one and mostly liked to stick things in her mouth, like rocks and the Sheriff’s badge.

“It looks amazing, Laura,” Lydia said with a smile.

“See, _she_ appreciates all I do for you!”

“I appreciate it!” Stiles defended before Laura skipped away to deal with something or other.

“She’s cute,” Lydia commented. Stiles raised his eyebrows at her. “Like, Cora is hot, and I can recognize that, but she’s not really my type. But Laura, she’s my type.”

“I thought your type had a penis.”

“So did I, to be honest. And then there was Tally.”

“Tally?”

“She’s a sophomore at my school, and she kisses like a goddess, and I may not be as straight as I thought I was.”

Stiles laughed and led Lydia to the gift table to put her gift down.

“I would say I understand that, but I’ve pretty much always been this queer.”

It was Lydia’s turn to laugh.

“I’m going to hit her up and see how single and into mingling she is,” Lydia said. Stiles rolled his eyes as she flitted after Laura into the house. Stiles turned to survey the backyard, eyes tracking over the guests just in case Scott had slipped in.

He only found Melissa as she set a bag on the gift table, tracing her steps as she came to stand beside him.

“Hey Stiles, how are you doing?” she asked kindly. He hadn’t seen much of her in the past year, but he was glad she had showed up, even if he and her son weren’t talking.

“I’m good. I can’t believe she’s a year old already. When did that happen?”

Melissa smiled good-naturedly at him as they stood together, their arms brushing in a familiar, familial way. They didn’t say anything for a long while, just watching the events of the party play out in front of them.

“He’s not coming, is he?” Stiles finally asked, breaking the silence. Melissa sighed and shook her head. “No, I didn’t think he was going to.”

 

VIII. _Fourteen_ _Months_

Stiles saw Scott. He saw the crooked jaw now covered with unshaven scruff, and the big brown eyes that he’d grown up with. He regularly took Claudia to the beach on his days off, let her toddle unsteadily on the sand like his mother had done for him. He never expected Scott to be there on a Wednesday afternoon, wearing just a pair of swim trunks, his chest defined as if he’d been working out in the year they’d been apart, and his skin tanner. He wasn’t facing Stiles, but he didn’t need to be to know his best friend. Were they were still even _friends_ at this point, let alone best friends?

He looked amazing.

“Claudia,” Stiles called, tearing his eyes away from Scott’s profile to find his daughter stumbling after a butterfly. “Oh, no! You don’t!”

He pushed himself up off the beach blanket and jogged after his toddler, sweeping her up into his arms.

“You are a little troublemaker, Claudia Rose,” Stiles said, returning her to their blanket, looking around for Cora and Isaac, not even bothering to find the new love-struck Lydia and Laura knowing they’d be pressed against each other in a cool corner, before setting Claudia down. She immediately started feeling her away back onto the sand, the day cool enough that he could leave her sandals off without her burning her feet on the sand.

“Hey Claudia,” Stiles heard Scott say, Claudia heading straight for him and his group. Scott looked up and met Stiles’ gaze, and offered a casual head nod in his direction.

Fourteen years of friendship and all Stiles got was a head nod.

Scott turned Claudia around and she went easily, heading back to Stiles with a big grin on her face. She was so proud of herself for walking without falling for this long and it was the cutest thing ever. Stiles looked up at Scott and he couldn’t help the almost literal swelling in his chest at the look of pure pride and joy on Scott’s face at Claudia walking so easily.

He hated that, even after all these months with no contact and no trace of Scott, Scott still affected him this much.

He probably always would. 

-&-

It took three days to gather up the courage to do what he knew he had to do.

He loved Derek.

He knew that he loved Derek, and that love was amazing. Derek made him happy, and he cared for Madison, and Derek cared for Claudia in return. They were a small unit that could be beautiful and strong if they continued to grow together. Stiles could see a good life ahead of them, with a two-story house with a two-car garage that bordered the Preserve and their two girls growing up in the same house. He could see Claudia and Madison with a little brother that Derek and Stiles adopted and a dog that they rescued from a shelter, their house always alight with sound and life. He could see Derek and him growing old and yelling at each other because they forgot to turn up their hearing aids. He could see it all, and the little boy in him that never had a brother or a sister and whose mother had died when he was young ached for it.

But he didn’t love Derek the way he loved Scott, and he never would.

And Derek deserved more than second best.

Stiles left Claudia with his father and drove to the Hale house. There was only the one car parked out front, Derek’s, and Stiles prayed that Derek was the only one home. He did not want to do this in front of the entire Hale clan.

That would be hell.

This was already hell enough, he didn’t need an audience.

He let himself into the house using his spare key, a gift surprisingly not from Derek but from Talia.

“You’re here so much for Derek and the daycare and Cora, it just makes sense,” she had said. He wondered if he would have to give it back, or find a new daycare place, or a new best friend. His entire body tensed up at the thought of losing Cora over this. It was bad enough that he had to do this to Derek but if he lost Cora, and Laura, he might as well just seal himself in isolation.

“Stiles?” Derek asked, popping out of the doorway from the kitchen, a sandwich in one hand, his cell phone in the other. He was wearing a pair of sweatpants and a thin t-shirt, and Stiles wanted to cry. How was someone so pretty and handsome simultaneously? “I didn’t know you were coming over. Did we, were we going to do something and I forgot?”

“No. I just, there’s something I need to talk to you about.”

“Okay.”

Derek led them into the living room and sank onto the couch. Stiles perched on the edge of the same couch but out of reach, shifting awkwardly while Derek settled.

“You okay?”

“No. Not really.”

Derek set his sandwich on a coaster on the side table and sat up.

“Okay. What is it? Should I be worried?”

Stiles brought his hand up to his mouth to chew on his nails, an awful habit that everyone berated him for, when Derek reached over and took his hand in his own.

“What’s going on?”

“I don’t know how to start. Uhm. I guess I’ll just say it. Okay. I think we should see other people.”

Derek recoiled, pulling his hand away from Stiles, and looked as if Stiles had struck him.

“What?”

“You deserve the most attentive, most wonderful person that will love you the way that you deserve. You deserve so much more than me.”

“That’s bullshit, Stiles.”

Stiles shook his head.

“No, you don’t get to cop out with _I deserve better_.”

“It’s not a cop out! I can’t string you along when there is someone out the-”

“String me along? What, have you just been lying to me this entire time? Do you actually love me, or is that some kind of line you gave to make yourself feel better?”

“No, I do-”

“It’s been almost a year, and you’re just realizing this now that maybe it’s not a great idea to lie to your boyfriend?”

“God, Derek, you’re twisting my words! That’s not what I meant!”

“Enlighten me, then! What could you have actually meant when you said that you didn’t want to string me along and that I deserve better? Because to me, it sounds like-”

“I’m still in love with Scott!” Stiles finally blurted. Derek froze and stared at Stiles. “That’s why I can’t, I can’t keep doing this, to you or to me. I am always going to be in love with Scott McCall before I love anyone else and I fucking hate it. I hate that he abandoned me after I made the mistake of kissing him, instead of talking to me about it, and I still want him around. I hate that after the year of being absolutely alone without my _best friend,_ I am still willing to take him back the minute he asks.  Is that what you wanted to hear? Is that the explanation you wanted? Because that’s not what I want! I want to be happy with you, and have a white fucking picket fence with a dog and babies and your family always at the house. I want a fucking future with you, but you deserve more than second place.”

Stiles didn’t know when he had started crying, or when Derek’s face had softened, or even when Derek had drawn close enough to touch his cheek.

“I know,” Derek said gently. He cupped Stiles’ jaw and rested his forehead against Stiles’, whispering, “I know” repeatedly. Stiles wanted to climb into Derek’s arms and never leave. Derek was comfort and safety and family.

But Scott, Scott represented history and passion and loyalty, and god, why couldn’t Stiles just have both?

“Please don’t make me lose you,” Stiles hiccupped, the tears that left drying tracks on his cheeks dissipating and his breath evening out.

“I won’t. We can still be friends, okay? I don’t want to lose you, either.”

Stiles gathered himself and finally pulled away, brushing the last remnants of his breakdown away from his cheeks.

“I should go. Uhh, I left Claudia with Dad, and she was already cranky when I left so he’s probably not too happy with me.”

Derek only smiled, small but still there, in return.

Stiles stood and righted his shirt before heading out.

“Hey, do you want the spare key your mom gave me back?”

Derek laughed, and shook his head.

“You’re still family, Stiles, even if you’re not my boyfriend.”

 

IX. _Fifteen Months_

Stiles saw Scott again, this time at the supermarket. He was pushing the cart around dazedly. He hadn’t gotten any sleep the night before, since Claudia had caught a cold of all things and hadn’t wanted to sleep, couldn’t sleep. His poor baby couldn’t find a position that was comfortable so he tried holding her and rocking with her until she fell asleep but the moment he would lay her in her crib, she woke back up again. He tried rocking all night with her but after a while she would get fussy and non-complacent.

All in all, it made for a terrible night and it had been followed by an opening shift and very grumpy customers.

His day sucked.

Then he saw Scott McCall, and it didn’t suck so much.

“Hey,” Scott said, carrying a basket full of tortillas and what looked like the ingredients for Melissa’s amazing bean burritos. “You okay? You look like you’re about to pass out.”

“Claudia’s sick, so I stayed up all night with her, and I want to nap, but once I leave here, I have to pick Claudia up from Cora, and I’m hoping she hasn’t taken a nap, but that’s unlikely because when she’s miserable, she doesn’t want to do anything but make the world miserable,” Stiles replied, his sentences flowing together in one endless, mindless ramble. He took a breath and slumped against the cart as if all of his energy had gone from him.

Maybe it had.

“Come on, what do you need to get?”

“Diapers. Wipes. Peas. Potatoes. Cereal. Something for dinner.”

“Why don’t you and Claudia come over for dinner? Mom’s making her burritos, and you know she always makes more than enough for an army.”

Stiles wanted to cry in relief, if he was being honest with himself. He didn’t want to be responsible for putting food on the table.

“Plus, I think she’d love to see Claudia. And you need to not be on your feet. So come on.”

Scott set his basket in Stiles’ cart and helped him push it away from the aisles and into a line to check out. Stiles watched Scott’s movements, moving item from basket to belt, without registering what was happening. Scott pulled him by the cart out of the store and to the Jeep, parked in one of the first aisles blessedly.

“Are you okay to drive?” Scott asked.

“Yeah. I’ll be fine. What time do you want us over?”

There were a thousand things Stiles wanted to say, wanted to ask. It wouldn’t take much effort; he hadn’t been known for his self-control over his mouth. It was that lack of self-control that got them into this mess, though. It was Stiles’ inability to control his mouth that landed them with such a rift between them. He had to approach this delicately, had to have more finesse than his usual approach, which lacked tact.

He wanted to fix everything, and that didn’t happen whe-

“I love you.”

 _What the fuck was that_ , he berated himself immediately, _that was not helpful_. But he was here already, he had already started breaking the dam, might as well finish the job.

“I love you, dude. And not in a no homo way. Full homo. All of the homo. I’m in love with you, is really what I mean. I’m so in love with you that I can’t even think about being with anyone else, and I tried. God, I fucking tried, but they weren’t you. He wasn’t you, and I’m in love with you, Scott. I want to hold your hand and make out with you in my Jeep while Dad watches Claudia, and I want her to grow up calling us both Dad because I want you in our lives as more than just a friend. And it’s, it’s okay, I think, if you don’t feel the same way, because I needed you to know that. This last year has been hell without you so even if you don’t feel the same way about me, I want- I _need_ you in my life, our lives, Claudia’s and mine, because you’re the best thing that could’ve ever happened to either of us. So, please, don’t get freaked out. Just, stay with me, with us.”

Scott didn’t say anything for a second, just stood while he watched Stiles. It unnerved Stiles, made his insides quake in anticipation, in dread, or fear. Scott took a step closer to Stiles, and Stiles hoped it wasn’t to punch him.

Instead, Scott kissed him.

It was soft, gentle, and over in a second.

“I’m sorry I spooked. I didn’t know that you felt that way about me, that you ever could feel that way, and then you kissed me and I didn’t know I could feel that way about you, and it scared me. It could change everything, and then when I realized that I had changed everything by just leaving, it felt like it was too late. I kept picking up the phone to call, and opening Skype to see if you were on, and hoping that you would be braver than I could be. I’m sorry. I don’t deserve you and Claudia.”

“Yes, you do. And even if you didn’t, I don’t care. I love you. I want you, deserving or not.”

Stiles brushed his hand through Scott’s soft hair and smiled before asking tentatively, “so, do you want to go out with me?”

“I do. I really, _really_ do.”

 

X. _Five Years_

“DADDY! POPPA! WAKE UP! WAKE UP!” a tiny, impossibly loud voice yelled in his ear, the bed shaking as the little, overwhelmingly deafening voice bounced on the bed, shattering his very nice dream about dragon riding and pulling him to consciousness. “COME ON, DADDY! IT’S MY FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!”

“Has her voice always been that loud?” another deeper voice grumbled, the owner wedging his face underneath Stiles’ arm.

“Yes,” Stiles replied but dragged his head out from underneath the pillow, his gaze falling on his beautiful, wonderful, extraordinarily loud daughter. “Good morning, Claudia.”

“GOOD MORNING, DADDY!” she shrieked, her entire body practically vibrating with excitement.

“What have I told you about inside voices?” he asked patiently. Claudia had already dressed herself in a backwards shirt and an inside out skirt and attempted to put her long, light brown hair into pigtails.

“That I have to use them if I want to learn,” Claudia replied easily, sinking onto her knees on top of his stomach. He sat up and kissed her forehead.

“Are you excited, boo?”

“YES!” she shouted and immediately shied as Scott groaned. “Yes,” she repeated, this time in a quiet whisper.

“Okay, well, do you know what excited little girls do?” Stiles asked.

“What?”

“They let Daddy and Poppa have a moment to wake up. Go pour yourself some juice and we’ll be right down.”

Claudia launched her tiny body off the bed and flung herself out of the door, leaving it open so the hallway light spilled into the room.

“Come on, Scotty. Time to get up.”

“I don’t have to be to work for four hours,” he whined after glancing at the clock. Stiles’ husband’s hair was all askew, sticking up this way and that.

“Yes, but your daughter’s first day of school is today and you don’t want to miss that, do you?” Stiles asked, pressing a kiss to Scott’s shoulder and nuzzling into his bare, hot skin.

“No,” Scott agreed.

“Exactly. Get your cute butt out of bed.”

Stiles climbed out of bed, leading by example, and got dressed before heading out of their bedroom and downstairs to the kitchen. Claudia was sat at the kitchen table, her place set and her cup full of juice. Stiles finally noticed as he opened up the fridge and pulled out the ingredients for their breakfast that Claudia hadn’t taken off her pajamas in her excitement, only pulled her outfit for the day over top of them.

His kid was cute.

He started making pancakes and breakfast sausage when Scott finally joined them, falling into the seat beside Claudia and kissing her hair.

“What’s going on with your hair, Clauds?” he asked.

“I tried to put it up like you do, Poppa!” she replied excitedly. “But it didn’t come out the same way. Will you fix it?”

Scott obliged, taking the hair ties from Claudia’s slightly curling hair and laying it flat. Stiles liked watching Scott do their daughter’s hair. Stiles had seen Scott’s youtube history, and knew that Scott favorited videos of hairstyles he thought would look cute on Claudia. He also knew that Scott had asked Lydia to teach him some basic braids when Claudia’s hair grew long enough to braid.

His husband was pretty cute, too.

“Laura and Lydia have a surprise for you tonight,” Scott said suddenly, and Stiles looked up from where he was flipping pancakes.

“They do?”

Scott nodded at Stiles without taking his attention off Claudia.

Lala and Lylia, the names that Claudia had decided on when she was first learning to talk, were close to Claudia’s favorite people. It was mostly because Laura and Lydia spoiled Claudia like it was their profession.

“Wow, Clauds. First day of kindergarten, and a Laura-Lydia surprise in one day! Can you handle it?” Stiles asked while checking on the sausage.

“Yes!” Claudia cheered and Scott laughed.

“Hey, do you want to take your nice school outfit off before you eat so you don’t get syrup on it?” he asked, tickling at Claudia’s belly.

“Yeah!”

Scott helped Claudia out of the t-shirt and tugged the skirt off before setting them over the spare chair. Stiles fixed Claudia’s plate first and stuck it in the freezer while he fixed his and Scott’s.

“Scotty.” He offered the two plates to his husband who grabbed them and laid them on the table at their proper places. He grabbed Claudia’s from the freezer and brought that over to the table for her.

It was an easy routine. He and Claudia had been good at routines before Scott and Stiles had started dating, and it had been easy to fall into a new routine with Scott included. It had been even simpler when they finally had their own place, their own two-story house with a white picket fence- literally, it was white and it was picket- that they could call their own.

“Hey, I have to go into the station for a little while around 2,” Stiles said, stabbing at his pancakes and watching his daughter’s rather revolting eating habits. That was his own fault, probably. “Are you okay to pick up Claudia or should I?”

“No, it’ll be okay. Will you come to the dinner in your uniform?” Scott asked innocently.

“It’s a good possibility that I won’t have time to change.”

Scott grinned.

“It’s a deal, then.”

They finished eating and Scott washed up the dishes, since Stiles had cooked, while Stiles washed up Claudia and got her into her outfit.

“You want to take a picture so I can show everyone how cute you are?” Stiles asked. Claudia bounced up and down excitedly as she nodded. He had already warned his daughter’s teacher that she could’ve inherited his ADHD, and they had promised to look out for it, but Stiles really hoped that Claudia hadn’t gotten that one gene. Obviously he would love her either way, but his reliance on medication to make him more acceptable to society was not something he would wish on anyone, especially not his child.

Claudia ran and grabbed the sign she’d helped him make.

**_Claudia Rose_ **

**_First Day of Kindergarten_ **

**_September 8 th, 2018_ **

She stood proudly in front of the door and grinned at the camera, holding the sign up in front of her. He took a couple photos, sending them to his family and friends, and setting it as his phone background, as well as shamelessly adding them to Facebook because he couldn’t help showing off how cute his daughter is.

“Okay, go play until it’s time to go! Don’t get anything on your clothes!” he told her. She gently placed the sign on the shelf by the door and then tore off into her playroom.

His phone buzzed with an incoming notification and he found a new comment on his photos of Claudia.

 **Heather Bushey** She’s grown up so much. She’s beautiful. You’re doing a great job, Stiles. I knew I made the right decision.

Stiles couldn’t help the snort he let out before following the sounds of glasses and plates clinking back to the kitchen.

“Heather just commented on my photo on Claudia,” he said, pulling himself up onto the counter by the sink. “Can you believe that?”

“I didn’t know you were friends with Heather on Facebook,” Scott answered instead.

“Yeah, since freshman year, but that’s not the point.”

“Claudia is her daughter, too. She has the right to comment on the photo.”

“Claudia stopped being her daughter when she left her with me and went on a road-trip, Scott. Claudia stopped being her daughter when she willingly signed away her parental rights so you could adopt her.”

Scott shrugged.

“She gave birth to her,” he replied.

“It’s too early for this conversation,” Stiles grumbled, rubbing his forehead with the heel of his hand. Scott sighed and dried his hands before standing between Stiles’ legs.

“I’m sorry. You’re right. It was odd for her to comment after five years,” Scott said, pressing his hands into Stiles’ thighs and standing on his toes to kiss him. Stiles held him as close as their position could allow and kissed him hard, not wanting to let go, wanting instead to drown in him. They kissed, and kissed, and kissed. It wasn’t often that something held Claudia’s attention long enough so that they weren’t interrupted, and even if something held her attention, if she saw them kissing, well.

Cora and Derek had somehow taught Claudia the unfortunate response of-

“DADDY! GROSS!”

Scott backed away with a sad look on his face.

“I might have to kill them for this,” Stiles groaned and slid off the counter.

“What’s up, boo?”

“It’s time for school, Daddy!” she said, pointing excitedly at the clock on the microwave. “Right? You said that when the clock says 7:30, it’s time for school!”

“That’s right. Come on, let’s get your backpack.”

Stiles led Claudia to the door where she hiked the backpack full of crayons, colored pencils, and whatever else was on the teacher’s school supply list onto her shoulders.

“Do I look like a kindergartener?” she asked, looking between Scott and Stiles.

“You look like the cutest kindergartener in the world,” Stiles answered. “Say goodbye to Poppa. He’s gonna pick you up for school at the end of the day, okay?”

Claudia rushed forward to fling a hug around Scott’s waist. Scott squatted down and let her wrap her little arms around his neck.

“Be good at school, okay, Clauds? And listen to what your teacher has to say. They’re very smart.”

Claudia stepped away and kissed his cheek.

“Bye, Poppa!”

She offered her hand to Stiles who took it and winked at Scott over his shoulder before leading Claudia out of the house.

“Okay, are you ready?” he asked her, opening the door to their family-friendly sedan that had taken the place of his Jeep when it had finally died of old age. She scrambled inside and pulled herself into her car seat, buckling without taking off her backpack. She nodded and he shut the door behind her, stepping into his own side.

“Hey, do you remember what you dreamed about last night?” he asked.

“Dragons!” she said excitedly. “There were blue ones that had big, round eyes, and yellow ones that only had one eye, and there were people that would ride the dragons! There were chocolate dragons, and big white dragons that didn’t let anyone near them except for the tiny purple ones, and there were ones that didn’t breathe fire but bubbles!”

That’s what you get, Stiles thought, for watching How To Train Your Dragon before bed.

Stiles drove the speed limit, not in any hurry for his little girl to grow up. Whether he liked it or not, though, she was growing up. It seemed like just the day before that he was watching Heather unload her stuff and he held her for the first time. Now she was five years old, not two weeks, and she had dreams about dragons and liked Scott to do her hair and preferred the starry night light over the princess castle nightlight, and she liked only stories about fairies or about astronauts before bedtime. He was walking her into her classroom, listening to her talk about the old elder dragons that didn’t like the new dragons because they thought the young dragons were too noisy and were too colorful.

“Okay, Claudia, this is where I go, okay?”

Claudia looked up, alarmed. They’d put her backpack and jacket in the cubby with her name on it, and Stiles was crouched down with her. He remembered when his own mother had said this and his own initial reaction of fear had swept over him.

“No, stay.”

“I’ve already been through school, baby. I have to go to work, but you’ll be home in a couple of hours. Poppa’s gonna pick you up, and we’re going to see Laura and Lydia, remember?”

Claudia nodded.

“It’s going to be okay. I know it’s scary, but you were excited for this, right?”

She nodded again, glancing around like a trapped animal.

“You’re gonna meet some new friends, and you’re gonna have all new stories to tell me when I see you tonight.”

“Okay,” she said quietly.

“Okay. Now be good for Ms. Clarke.”

“Okay.”

She flung a hug around his neck, holding on like he was her favorite balloon and she was scared that she was the only thing tethering him to the ground. He held her tight in return.

“I love you, Claudia Rose.”

“I love you too, Daddy.”

Stiles pulled away and pressed a kiss into her nose.

“You go and show this class what Claudia Stilinski is made of.”

“Yeah!” she said, timidly but more confidently. He stood up and backed away, waving until he stepped out of the door. Claudia looked around the classroom, lost for a moment, before her eyes caught a boy wearing a jacket that made him look like a dragon and her eyes lit up with excitement.

“Your first?” a woman in a business suit asked.

“Yeah. Yours?”

“No. Tommy’s my third, and Alexis is my fourth,” she replied, gesturing with her free hand to the daughter still clinging to her mother’s skirt.

“Does it get easier tomorrow?”

“No.”

“Good to know.”

“But when your kid comes home with all these stories about new friends and things they learned, that’s what makes the separation worth it.”

“Thank you.”

Stiles headed for his car, a smile on his face. His daughter would be okay, and he would be okay. The look on Claudia’s face when she found the boy dressed like a dragon, that’s what made it all worth it.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading my monster fic! It's after 3 am and I've been working on this instead of doing anything productive for school all night! Yay! Go me! If you were to look at my likes on tumblr, it'd be filled with pictures and videos of babies in order to inspire me for this fic. Really. That and muffins that taste like donuts, but that's not relevant.  
> Here, have some adorable inspiration pictures for Claudia.
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>  
> 
> [Newborn](https://41.media.tumblr.com/1367f74f0f410a3a9afd6adf41d1fd3f/tumblr_nc24l8nyFi1rycnino1_500.jpg)
> 
>  
> 
> [Five Years Old](http://www.pickchur.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Cute-Baby-Girl.jpg)
> 
>  
> 
> DFTBA.  
> You can find me on tumblr @ deputy-heart-eyes.tumblr.com :)


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